Notching up more time on court than all his competitors, a five-set test of wills lasting more than 3 1/2 hours seemed a fitting way for Nikolay Davydenko to work his way into the US Open semifinals.

The seventh-seeded Davydenko dropped the first two sets in a half-empty stadium, then came all the way back to beat No. 14 Tommy Haas 4-6, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals Thursday.

"It was surprising. I played three hours and was feeling OK," Davydenko said, acknowledging his anonymity. "Who cares about Davydenko?" he imagined fans saying. "He didn't win a Grand Slam, was not No. 1."

Martina Navratilova has accomplished plenty in her career, which she extended for at least one more match by teaming with Bob Bryan to reach the mixed doubles semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Frantisek Cermak. Showing her ever-present vitality, Navratilova even hopped into the stands after chasing one shot.

"You're only as old as you feel, and I certainly don't feel 49," said Navratilova, who owns 58 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles and is retiring for a second time after this tournament. "I just wanted to inspire people."

Navratilova and Nadia Petrova were eliminated in women's doubles earlier Thursday, losing to defending champions Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Davydenko will play his tour-leading 77th match of the season against No. 1 Roger Federer or No. 5 James Blake, whose quarterfinal was slated for Thursday night. The other men's semifinal Saturday will pit No. 9 Andy Roddick against unseeded Mikhail Youzhny, conqueror of Spanish wunderkind Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Davydenko and Youzhny give Russia two men's semifinalists at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time in the Open's history. Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov lost in the final four at the 2001 U.S. Open.

The women's semifinals Friday feature three women, all former Grand Slam title winners and all former world No. 1. Current favourite Amelie Mauresmo plays No. 3 Maria Sharapova, and No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne plays No. 19 Jelena Jankovic, this tournament's real surprise package.

Davydenko had failed to get past the third round at the U.S. Open before, although he did make a major semifinal at the 2005 French Open.

He and Haas both looked fatigued as Thursday's match dragged on, and the German might have been feeling the effects of needing to go to fifth-set tiebreakers in each of the previous two rounds. Haas yelled for energy as he emerged from the locker room before the match, but by the end, he was a step slow.

"In the fifth set, for me, it was probably more physical than anything. My body didn't feel good anymore," Haas said. "I was making too many unforced errors, and I couldn't cover the court as well as I did the first three or four sets."

Davydenko is currently 3-0 this year in five-setters, but this one could have ended earlier than it did.

He held a match point while trying to serve out the victory, leading 5-2 in the fifth, but he sailed a forehand long, and Haas wound up breaking his serve. After that game, Haas called for a trainer, who massaged both of his thighs. Davydenko showed signs of physical distress, too, occasionally limping after lunging for shots.

Davydenko served for the match again at 5-4, and faced two break points, but he erased the first with a cross-court forehand winner, and the second with a 131 mph service winner, and eventually ended the match with a big forehand.

Haas said Davydenko plays "like a ball machine. Gets every ball back. He doesn't really miss much. When he gets into a groove, he finds a lot of corners and makes the opponent run. That's his game, and that's working for him."

Roddick's game has always featured powerful serves and forehands, but he's adding other dimensions to his game thanks to new coach Jimmy Connors.

As he demonstrated in beating 2001 Open champion Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night, Roddick is playing more aggressively. He's charging the net much more than in the past, including on the back of second serves, and has developed a ruthless down-the-line backhand. Those are things other coaches tried in vain to get Roddick to do.

"It resonates well coming from Jimmy," said John Roddick, Andy's older brother and one of a string of coaches preceding Connors. "Jimmy obviously doesn't need a job. He doesn't need any of the fanfare that goes with it. Andy knows when it comes to Jimmy, it's very straightforward and very matter-of-fact and very simple. It definitely hits home with him."

Both Roddicks talk about how Connors, a five-time Open champion who pretty much dropped out of sight after retiring in the early 1990s, gave Andy greater self-belief merely by agreeing to team up. The confidence that began to slide away at Flushing Meadows in 2005, when Roddick lost in the first round, is now restored.

"Confidence is a fickle thing," John Roddick said, "but then it comes back quickly."

Roddick and Connors both declined to answer questions as they walked off a practice court Thursday afternoon.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off," Roddick said, then ducked into the locker room.
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(AP September 8, 2006)