NEW YORK: Baking heat, rain and the threat of lightning all forced stoppages in play at the US Open on Sunday but Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki marched on through a day of wild weather and upsets.

Former world number one Wozniacki had her fourth round match with Maria Sharapova halted briefly by the heat rule but it was the fifth-seeded French Open champion who wilted under a blazing sun, falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

About a half-hour later, thunderstorms halted play with Federer down a break in the first set to Spaniard Marcel Granollers.

The five-time US Open champion acknowledged the two-hour delay helped him regroup. While Granollers won the first set, Federer dominated the rest of the way, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 to storm into the fourth round.

“It was a good match and I managed to turn it around as Marcel was on fire at the start,” said Federer, who will face Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the quarter-finals after the 26-year-old Spaniard beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Gilles Simon and Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer sweated it out under a midday sun, the 26th seeded Frenchman posting the first big surprise in the men’s draw with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win.

Simon goes on to face Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, for a place in the quarter-finals.

A stormy day finished off with another upset on Arthur Ashe Stadium court as 17-year-old Swiss sensation Belinda Bencic swept past ninth-seeded Serb and former world number one Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

“It was always a dream to play on this court,” said Bencic, who is coached by Martina Hingis’ mother Melanie Molitor. “I watched it as a kid and I always dreamt about playing here.”

Next up for Bencic is another giant-killer in China’s Peng Shuai.

The doubles specialist, who had never been to a major quarter-final before, eased into the last eight with a 6-3 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova having already defeated fourth-seeded Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.

The departures of Sharapova and Jankovic leave only world number one Serena Williams, Canadian seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard and Wozniacki as the surviving members of the women’s top 10.

Sharapova, looking to add this year’s US Open title to her French Open win in June, was undone by 43 unforced errors and eight double faults as 10th seed Wozniacki won in 2 hours, 37 minutes to get back to her first Grand Slam quarter-final in more than two years.

A Grand Slam title is the one major hole in Wozniacki’s considerable resume and the Dane may never have a better opportunity to fill it with the draw having opened up.

The 2009 US Open runner-up is training to run the New York marathon later in the year and appeared better equipped to cope with the soaring temperatures and stifling humidity that took the players off court.

After play resumed, Wozniacki turned up her own heat on the five-time Grand Slam winner in the third set and will next face 13th-seeded Italian Sara Errani who ended the magical run of 32-year-old Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.

“It means so much to me,” said Wozniacki. “It’s been a bit up and down for me this season. To win today against a champion like Maria is an unbelievable feeling.”

The Dane captured the decisive break in the third game after a spectacular point in which she raced three times across the baseline to retrieve shots before the Russian netted a backhand volley to fall behind 3-1.

Wozniacki broke Sharapova again for good measure in the final game to return to a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open.

Barring Ferrer’s upset, the men’s top 10 seeds remain intact, with sixth seed Tomas Berdych and seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov both advancing.

Rising talent Dominic Thiem continued to surprise, following up his second round win over 11th seed Ernests Gulbis by dismantling 19th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

The 20-year-old Austrian will have to pull a bigger upset out of his hat in the next round when he meets Berdych, a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 winner over Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili.

Gael Monfils mowed down 12th seed and fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and will also need to produce something special to overcome Dimitrov, who recovered from a sleepy start to dump Belgian David Goffin 0-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd , 2014