US Open Tennis 2013 Results: Biggest Takeaways from Day 8 at Flushing Meadows

The 2013 U.S. Open action resulted in yet another disappointment for Roger Federer and a triumph for Rafael Nadal.

Both stars were preparing for a potential quarterfinals showdown—their first ever head-to-head affair at Flushing Meadows—prior to Monday’s results.

While we won't get to see that blockbuster matchup, there’s plenty of suspense left in New York. We also learned or reaffirmed a couple of things after that half of the men’s round of 16 finished Monday night.

Roger Federer’s Decline is Real

For all of the progress Federer made through the first three rounds of the U.S. Open, he did a complete 180 in his disappointing straight-set loss to Tommy Robredo. We saw a glimmer of hope that maybe the Swiss giant was regaining his form and was capable of making a real push for one last Grand Slam title.

But an unfortunate reality set in quickly as he sloppily dropped three consecutive sets to Robredo: Federer is just not the same. His loss in the round of 16 makes this the first time he’s failed to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal two consecutive tries in his career. It’s also a negative milestone for his career in another way, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Add all of that to his poor showing in 2013—a 32-11 record and No. 7 rank in the ATP World Rankings—and it’s useless to refute it any longer.

Rafael Nadal is on Top of His Game

He started poorly, but Rafael Nadal recovered and maintained his perfect 19-0 hard-court record this summer by bouncing back to handily dispatch Philipp Kohlschreiber in four sets. That’s the best we've seen—and likely the best we will see—from Rafa on this surface in his career.

Despite winning the U.S. Open in 2010, Nadal has never proven to be consistently dominant on any surface other than clay. That notion is rapidly changing as the summer progresses.

His new, aggressive forward approach and dominant serve have made him nearly unstoppable on hard courts to this point in the season. That serve has been masterful at Flushing Meadows. Nadal hasn't been broken once so far, making him the only contender left to carry that distinction.

Richard Gasquet Wants His First Grand Slam Title

While he realistically might not have a shot at winning the silverware in New York, Frenchman Richard Gasquet wasn't ready to call it quits despite trailing two sets to one against Milos Raonic. He survived a masterful performance by the Canadian that included 39 aces and 102 winners—it wasn’t enough.

The four-hour, 40-minute marathon in the hot and humid conditions proved to be too much for Raonic, who had played only four previous five-set matches in his career. But it took everything Gasquet had to avoid defeat, and he showed he wanted it badly with the emotion he displayed on the court.

A win over David Ferrer would send him into the semifinals of a Grand Slam for just the second time in his career. The first was a loss to Roger Federer in the semis at Wimbledon in 2007.