US Open Tennis 2011 Results: Nadal, Murray Advance to Semifinals

The remaining American men in the 2011 US Open field were eliminated Friday as Rafael Nadal defeated Andy Roddick and John Isner fell to Andy Murray.

American tennis fans should not fret. Their countrymen might be out of the field, but there is a very entertaining weekend of tennis ahead of us. No Americans left in the draw won't take away from the great matches we will be treated to.

John Isner vs. Andy Murray

This match followed the script pretty closely. Isner served well and Andy Murray simply did all he could to extend points in Isner's service games. On his own service games, Murray did a good job of being aggressive and staying on the offensive.

The only plot twist was late in the match when Murray beat Isner at his own game, a tiebreaker, to win the match.

Storyline

Most felt that Isner had better than a puncher's chance to come out of this match victorious and they were right. Isner held serve more often than not and he was competitive in Murray's service games.

Isner will be disappointed that he let a great chance to win slip away, but he shouldn't hang his head for long. This was a breakthrough performance for him.

What's Next for Murray?

Murray will move on to face Rafael Nadal. Nadal has calmed fears that his body was failing him as he has looked downright dominant in the last couple of rounds.

The fact that this match is being played on Murray's favorite surface will help Murray, but he will have to be on his game in a big way to come out victorious.

Andy Roddick vs. Rafael Nadal

Nadal was not messing around on the court today. He came out and broke Roddick's serve in the first game of the match. Little did we know at the time that the first game of the match would be indicative of how the entire thing would play out.

Roddick was said to be experiencing quad tightness, but his performance was disappointing no matter the circumstances.

Storyline

There was cautious optimism that Roddick would bring out vintage Andy and come away with the win. He had been playing well and he has had some recent success against Nadal.

Nadal was looking to show once and for all that he was healthy. He certainly did that on this day. Roddick never got into the match and Nadal made some of the best shots of the tournament en route to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win.

What's Next for Nadal?

Nadal will move on to face Andy Murray in the semifinals. Murray has been playing well, but Nadal has to be considered the favorite. He has returned to the form that we saw at the French Open and he looks poised to snatch another Grand Slam title away from Novak Djokovic.