Donald Young feels good, humidity gets to others at U.S. Open

Reporting from New York — Donald Young says you don’t have to see him hit a single tennis ball to know whether he’s feeling good. If he’s feeling good, Young will rock his cap sideways, put on a sparkling pair of stud diamond earrings and wear a bright-colored shirt, exactly like the bright yellow one he’s had on during this U.S. Open.

On Sunday in such humidity that Flavia Pennetta had dry heaves on Louis Armstrong Stadium and defending champion Rafael Nadal fell to the floor during a news conference because of extreme cramping, Young was still able to jump high to celebrate his 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win over 24th-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela.

“I like to play with style,” Young said. “I don’t like to be boring. I like colors. I like to wear flashy things if I’m feeling good. If I’m not feeling good, I want to wear something neutral to not be seen.”

Young was one of three American men who moved to the fourth round Sunday.

Andy Roddick, seeded 21st and Open champion in 2003, had an easy time putting out Frenchman Julien Benneteau, and 28th-seeded John Isner beat Alex Bogomolov, Jr., 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-4, to become the third American winner Sunday.

Isner will play Gilles Simon next. Simon, seeded 12th, knocked out 2009 Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3).

Nadal didn’t seem in any physical trouble when he beat Argentina’s David Nalbandian, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 7-5, on Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2 hours 39 minutes.

Afterward, Nadal drank two bottles of water and one of Gatorade, and had a meal before he came to meet the media, his agent Benito Perez-Barbadillo said. But, after completing his English interrogation, Nadal began to struggle.

He squirmed in his seat and tried to stretch his legs before putting his hand over his eyes and then slipping from his chair and going under a table.

After several minutes of treatment with liquids, ice and massage, Nadal popped up and said he was fine. Perez-Barbadillo said Nadal told him that the pain was intense but he didn’t want to cry in public, so that’s why he covered his eyes.

“I just have cramping in my leg, in front and behind. That’s why it was so painful. That’s all,” Nadal said.

In a match on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Pennetta, seeded 26th, said the heat made her feel ill. “I was feeling really bad,” said Pennetta, who upset 13th-seeded Peng Shuai of China. “I think it was because it’s really humid. It’s hot. Also when you have a lot of emotion in the court. My body needed to breathe and I started to maybe have the sensation of throwing up. But nothing came with nothing inside.”

Young said he didn’t even notice the heat and humidity that seemed so draining.

“I’m just enjoying everything,” he said.

Next up, Young gets fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who won easily Sunday, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, over 25th-seeded Feliciano Lopez. Young upset Murray last winter at Indian Wells.

Roddick, 29, also said no one should worry about Nadal. “People cramp after matches,” he said. “We run around, run miles and miles and miles on tennis courts in nasty weather,” he said. “Throw in nerves there, it happens. As long as it doesn’t happen during a match, you’re fine.”

Notable

Eighth-seeded Mardy Fish, who plays 11th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Monday, is the fourth American male in the fourth round. That’s the most into that round since 2003. Ninth-seeded Samantha Stosur, who had taken 3 hours 16 minutes to win her third-round match, the longest in the tiebreak era of women’s tennis, helped set another record Sunday. She beat 25th-seeded Maria Kirilenko, 6-2, 6-7 (15), 6-3. The 32-point tiebreak was the longest in women’s singles in Grand Slam history.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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