New York, September 4:

Roger Federer rallied from a set down to beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday and reach the US Open quarter-finals.

Top ranked Federer lost the first set to Lopez, barely won the second, then trailed love-40 to start the third before going on to win the next 35 points he served. Next up for Federer, bidding to become the first man to win four consecutive US Open titles since the 1920s: a quarter-final against No 5 Andy Roddick, the 2003 champion and the runner-up last year. Federer is 13-1 against Roddick.

Roddick advanced to the final eight when No 9-seeded Tomas Berdych stopped playing in the second set because of what appeared to be a breathing problem. Roddick was leading 7-6 (6), 2-0 when Berdych quit, making the Czech 0-9 against top-10 opponents at Grand Slam tournaments.

Earlier, 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova got off her stomach and closed the match, beating Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals. Kuznetsova needed five match points, finishing it off with a strong, cross-court forehand that Azarenka chased into the corner, losing her hat on the way. Kuznetsova next plays another unseeded opponent, Agnes Szavay of Hungary.

Szavay moved on by defeating Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine 6-4, 7-6 (1). Ranked No 31, Szavay is playing in her first US Open — her two other previous Grand Slam appearances ended in second-round losses at Wimbledon and the French Open this year.

Also Monday, Tommy Haas advanced, outlasting American hopeful and sixth-seeded James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4). Haas next plays No 4 Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.

No 18 Shahar Peer became the first Israeli woman to reach the US Open quarter-finals by beating No 30 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-1. Radwanska knocked off defending champion Maria Sharapova in the third round but couldn’t keep up with Peer, who built a 20-4 advantage in winners.