Murray falls flat at US Open, Nadal reaches quarterfinals

Andy Murray was knocked out of the US Open by a player hed never lost to, Rafael Nadal rallied to advance, and Serena Williams set up a semifinal showdown with Kim Clijsters at the years final Grand Slam tournament. Murray, the No 2 seed behind Roger Federer and a finalist in New York a year ago, became the highest-ranked player eliminated from the mens draw with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round defeat yesterday to Marin Cilic. Cilic will play Juan Martin Del Potro -- the No. 6 seed from Argentina who topped 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 -- for a place in the semifinals. The third-seeded Nadal avoided a similar fate by recovering after losing the first set 7-3 in a tie-breaker to take the next three 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 against No 13 Gael Monfils in yesterdays final match. Nadal advances to meet 11th- seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, a four-set winner over No 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Williams, who is seeking to become the first woman to repeat as US Open champion since sister Venus in 2000-01, marched into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 10 Flavia Pennetta of Italy. One of only two top-10 seeds left in the womens draw, shell next face Clijsters, who continued her Grand Slam comeback with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No 18 Li Na of China. Another unseeded player, 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin, looks to extend her US Open run with a quarterfinal match today against No 9 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.