Maria Sharapova benefits from rain break in U.S. Open win

NEW YORK — Maria Sharapova was dominating Nadia Petrova.

Then she wasn’t.

Then it rained at the U.S. Open.

And, boy, did that make a difference.

Sharapova, seeded third at the U.S. Open and a one-time champion here, overcame a third-set deficit and held on to beat 19th-seeded Nadia Petrova.

A 75-minute weather break in the third set, when she was behind already, 2-0, seemed to reinvigorate Sharapova.

Petrova blasted a 116 mile-per-hour ace as her first point after the rain delay, but Sharapova withstood that big shot from the 30-year-old Russian veteran and earned a decisive win in the seventh game of the final set by pounding her service returns harder and harder.

Sharapova, whose serve can suddenly go away, solidly finished off the win with the help of an ace and a service winner in the final game to earn a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

This is the first time Sharapova has reached the quarterfinals here since she won her only U.S. Open title in 2006.

“I’m so happy to be back in the quarters,” Sharapova said. “It feels so great.”

During the rain delay, Sharapova said her coach Thomas Hogstedt gave her stern advice.

“He told me to get my act together,” Sharapova said.

Earlier in the day, when it was still sunny and bright outside, Andy Roddick remained a tennis working man. Roddick last week said he would be retiring from the game as soon as he finished this U.S. Open.

Roddick says he doesn’t know whether he will laugh or cry, whether he can put aside all the constant aches and pains that have overtaken his 30-year-old body, whether he can find serving magic from his massive right arm, whether there is enough momentum to push him forward another day.

But Sunday afternoon, Roddick played big-hitting tennis when he could, and scrambled and scratched and let out big grunts of effort to chase down drop shots or feathery overheads from clever Italian Fabio Fognini

The 20th-seeded Roddick won his third-round match, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4, over the 25-year-old Fognini, who is ranked 59th in the world.

Fognini considers himself a friend of Roddick. The two exchange jokes and handshakes and locker room gossip. After he was beaten, Fognini embraced Roddick. “It was really great atmosphere,” Fognini said. “Andy was playing 110% at the end.”

Also playing at a high percentage was quirky Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

Bartoli, who is in constant motion, doing fake serves and laps along the baseline between points, upset fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0, in a fourth-round match. After she won, Bartoli ran around the Grandstand Court bumping fists with everyone she could reach.

Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka moved into the quarterfinals with much less drama. Azarenka beat unseeded Anna Tatishvili, 6-2, 6-2.

Roddick and Fognini had followed a dominating Novak Djokovic onto Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic, the defending champion and the second-seeded man this year, was a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 winner over 31st-seeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau, so the fans in the big stadium had energy in reserve to use in favor of Roddick.

Also advancing was defending women’s champion Samantha Stosur. Stosur, seeded seventh, ended the surprising run of British teenager Laura Robson with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Robson had upset Kim Clijsters and Li Na and earned an early break from Stosur before the Australian steadied herself and began moving forward to hit volleys. Still, Robson saved eight match points and received a big ovation from the crowd on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Up next for Roddick will be 23-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro, who won this title in 2009 and who has struggled with injuries and re-finding his confidence ever since. Del Potro beat fellow Argentinean Leonardo Mayer, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (9).

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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