The dream quarterfinal matchup between Nadal and Roger Federer was replaced by a mismatch between the second-seeded Nadal and the No. 19 seed Robredo.
With the way Nadal has stormed through the draw, there is little reason to think Federer, who lost to Robredo in straight sets in the fourth round, would have offered stiffer resistance.
“It’s going to be tough for the others,” Robredo said. 

Nadal required only 22 minutes to take the first set, winning 24 of the 29 points, and he improved to 7-0 against Robredo, with five of those victories coming on hardcourts. 

Nadal’s hard-to-replicate combination of speed and athleticism, and the vicious topspin he produces when he hits tennis balls from the baseline, have made him perhaps the greatest clay-court player. But he has also excelled on grass, winning Wimbledon twice, and on hard surfaces, winning the Australian Open in 2009 and the United States Open in 2010. 

Nadal was out for 222 days, from the summer of 2012 until his return Feb. 5. When he returned, he eased his way back on clay and won his eighth French Open title in May. Then, after a stunning first-round loss at Wimbledon, he zeroed in on the hardcourt with a laser focus. 

Hitting the ball flatter and harder while seeking breathtaking angles and using his gift of touch at the net, a fresher Nadal looks as prepared as ever to win the United States Open. 

Nadal is 20-0 on hardcourts this year and has not lost his serve in 67 games in five Open matches, and in 82 straight over all this summer. He has dropped only one set here, against Phillipp Kohlschreiber in the fourth round. 

Nadal said that the way he played against Robredo, changing direction and hitting precision inside-out forehands was a blueprint for him. 

“That is the way I have to play to be successful on every surface, but especially this one,” he said. “I was able to do it today. I hope I will be able to do it in two days.” 

In the next round Nadal will face his old friend Richard Gasquet of France, the No. 8 seed, who made the second Grand Slam semifinal of his career — six years after the first. 

Gasquet’s triumph came with considerable effort. His 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 victory over No. 4 David Ferrer required 3 hours 23 minutes to complete, just two days after Gasquet needed five sets and 4:40 to win a fourth-round match over Milos Raonic. 

“Right now for sure, I am a little bit tired,” Gasquet said, laughing. “This was difficult because Raonic, we played a big match. But today was the same. I managed to fight in the fifth. It was a big victory for me.” 

Gasquet carried hopes of a signature moment in an up-and-down career, one marred by injuries and a brief drug ban in 2009. In fact, it was Nadal who came to Gasquet’s defense at the time, a gesture Gasquet has never forgotten. 

“Rafa supported me more than anyone in the last few months, and if he ever needs me to help him, I will do what I can,” Gasquet said. “I’ll never forget what he’s done for me. Now I just want to get out and play.” 

But he will not be given much of a chance against Nadal, who has beaten Gasquet all 10 times they have played on tour. Gasquet had to point to an ancient victory he earned over Nadal in France when they were 13. 

Asked after his victory Wednesday night if he could beat Novak Djokovic in a potential final, Nadal insisted he was not looking past Gasquet. 

“If I don’t play a great match against Richard, I will see the final on TV,” he said.
Nadal was the second No. 2 seed to advance to the semifinals Wednesday night. Earlier on a crisp, blustery evening, Victoria Azarenka pounded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-3, in 1:16. 

By beating the 30-year-old Hantuchova, who was playing in her first Open quarterfinal since 2002, the 24-year-old Azarenka eliminated the possibility of an all-30s final four. Flavia Pennetta, 31, joined No. 1 Serena Williams and fifth-seeded Li Na as an over-30 semifinalist. 

Pennetta had to feel the same nerves as her friend Roberta Vinci across the net in Ashe Stadium. Each player was fighting for her first semifinal berth in a Grand Slam tournament, and each considered the Open her favorite event. They had played each other for almost their whole lives, and they carried the same burden: lifting Italian tennis to a new level. 

But as the occasion turned into an actual tennis match, anticipation replaced by serves, ground strokes and strategy, Pennetta shed those nerves for something altogether different in a 6-4, 6-1 victory: joy. 

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m really happy. I cannot believe it. It was really tough today, playing against Roberta. I was trying to play my tennis, trying to be aggressive, and it worked out perfectly.”
Pennetta’s joy stemmed from her long, frustrating comeback from a wrist surgery last year, which cost her the chance to play in the Open last year. Pennetta said the pain and its accompanying cloud of doubt had finally parted. 

“I didn’t play my best tennis the last six months, and I just try to keep working and working the same way,” she said. “I am starting to feel more my forehand, my backhand. Everything is starting to feel more normal in the way it was before the injury. I play really good tennis here, I think.”