Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Juan Monaco of Argentina in New York Monday. — Reuters NEW YORK — Rain washed out all of Tuesday's schedule at the US Open, postponing matches involving defending champion Rafael Nadal, No. 4-ranked Andy Murray and 2010 women's runner-up Vera Zvonareva. The three American men left in the tournament: Andy Roddick, John Isner and Donald Young, were also due to play. It was the first time play had been delayed by rain at this year's US Open. Steady showers that began overnight carried into the morning. A total of 54 matches — including four in the fourth round of men's singles and two in the quarterfinals of women's singles, along with doubles and juniors action — were postponed at least until Wednesday, when the forecast predicts more rain. Roger Federer stormed into the quarterfinals to send an ominous warning to the current world number ones about their intentions for the last Grand Slam of the year. It was just likes old times for the greatest players of their generation as they turned in masterful displays on a day when Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki both toiled but survived. Federer demolished Argentine baseliner Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in a fourth round clash that began just before midnight but ended before an approaching storm drenched Flushing Meadows. Wozniacki won a late-night thriller against former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-7, 7-5, 6-1, dispelling the notion that she lacks the predatory instincts to land her first major. Facing an early exit after losing the first set in a tiebreaker then falling behind 4-1 in the second, she won 12 of the last 14 games and looked as fit at the end as she did at the start. “I could have played another two or three sets if I had to,” the Danish top seed said. Her next match is against Germany's Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-1, 6-4, with Serena looming in the semis. Djokovic also showed his fighting qualities to win a 30-point tiebreaker in his 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov to reach the last eight without dropping a single set. There were no such problems for Federer, who reached his 30th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal with a breathtaking display that included four aces in a single game. Serena Williams's next opponent is Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who avenged her agonizing loss to Italy's Francesca Schiavone at this year's French Open to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. It was sweet revenge for Pavlyuchenkova after she blew her chance of a first Grand Slam semifinals appearance when she lost to Schiavone in the quarters at Roland Garros after leading 6-1, 4-1. Djokovic's next opponent is his Davis Cup teammate Janko Tipsarevic, who beat former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 in a slugfest that lasted almost four hours. “It means there's going to be at least one Serbian in the semifinals, which is great for our country,” Djokovic said. The floodlit evening session was delayed by more than an hour and a half after 11th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed almost four hours to beat American eighth seed Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in an enthralling center court clash. Tsonga's reward is a quarterfinal against Federer.
