Spain’s Robredo knocks out Federer, sets up showdown with Nadal at U.S. Open

Spain’s Tommy Robredo defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer 76 (73), 63, 64 in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open, setting up a showdown with countryman Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Nadal beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 67 (47), 64, 63, 61.

David Ferrer, a semifinalist in 2012, beat Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 76 (72), 36, 75, 76 (73) on Monday, crowning a stupendous session for Spanish tennis.

The 31yearold Robredo, who went into his match with a career record of 010 against Federer, played the match of his life.

“It’s amazing. For me, Roger for the moment is the best player of all times. And to beat him in a huge stadium like the US Open and in a Grand Slam, a match of five sets, it’s like a dream, no?” Robredo said after match.

The 32yearold Federer, who has won a record 17 Grand Slam titles, failed to make the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open for the first time in a decade.

“I think I started badly, which put me down a break. Then I was able to come back in that one. But it’s true, I mean, I struggled throughout, which is not very satisfying, to be honest. I mean, Tommy did a good job to keep the ball in play and make it difficult for me today. I missed so many opportunities,” Federer said.

Federer will climb one spot in the rankings to No. 6 despite his poor showing in New York because Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro lost in the second round.

“I wasn’t thinking that I was going to win. I just was going into the court trying to give my best and we’ll see, no? At the end, the important (thing) for me was to give everything. If it will pay back, I will be so, so happy. If not, what I want to do is leave the court knowing I did everything,” Robredo said.

Nadal had to fight hard against Kohlschreiber, who came out firing away and got 20 of his 49 winners in the first set.

“I think in the first set I didn’t feel that I had the control of the points from the baseline. When I was serving, was okay. I didn’t have a lot of problems with my serve during the whole first set. But when I was returning, I thought I need to play a little bit more aggressive with my background and with my forehand,” Nadal said.

Another Spaniard, Marcel Granollers, plays Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a fourthround match on Tuesday.