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NEW YORK: It was a bleak day for US tennis on Monday as for the first time in the 41-year Open era no American made it into the quarter-finals of the men's singles.
The last to fall was giant John Isner, who was toppled by Spain's Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-4, 6-4,, 6-4.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer, meanwhile, moved a step closer to a record-equalling sixth straight title with a routine 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win over outclassed Tommy Robredo of Spain.
In the last eight, he will play the man be beat in Paris to end his French Open jinx, Robin Soderling, who moved on when Nikolay Davydenko abandoned with a thigh strain when trailing 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Isner, at 6 foot 9 (2.03m) the second-tallest player in world tennis, in the previous round had ended the hopes of Andy Roddick, who had been regarded as the best American hope of ending a home winless drought dating back to 2003.
But he found in Verdasco a very different prospect with the match an exercise in contrasts between the towering American who relies on his big serve and staccato rallies and the tough Spaniard, more accustomed to grinding it out from the baseline.
Isner grabbed a one set lead with two breaks to one, but he was gradually worn down by the relentless pressure applied by Verdasco and when his serve started to waiver midway through the third set there could only be one winner.
"We got a lot of people to the round of 32 then I played Andy and one of us moved on, But after that we didn't do too well. But we had tough draws," Isner said.
"I wanted to go further, but I just got outplayed today. It was a good tournament and I can build on this for the rest of the year."
Federer edged a tight first set against Robredo and turned on the turbo to race away for a comprehensive win in 1 hour 48 minutes.
The Spaniard, losing for a ninth straight time to the world No.1 in seven years, admitted he had been helpless to halt the assault.
"When he saw that he was a set up, he started hitting it harder. Then the match goes easy for him," he said. "Maybe it's too easy for him, the tennis, so he can even laugh."
The 28-year-old Swiss star is bidding to become the first player since American Bill Tilden in 1925 to win six straight US Open crowns.
He also would make it three out of four Grand Slam titles this year, and for the fourth time in his career, and take his career haul to 16, two clear of second-best Pete Sampras.
Turning to his last eight clash with Soderling, Federer said he expected a tough test even though he had won all 11 previous matches between the two.
"It seems like he's on a good run again. I think obviously of the French Open final, which was a great one for me, a great tournament. He's been able to stay strong.
"I hope I can play well because it's always kind of close with him. He's a tough player."
The night session game to designate who would play Verdasco in the quarter-finals was between fourth seed Novak Djokovic and wily Czech Radek Stepanek
- AFP/yb
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