• US Open, Day Four

Plays of the Day: Dancing Queen

Jelena Jankovic went to great lengths to get through her match © PA Photos

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• Profile: Roger Federer | Jelena Jankovic | Andrea Petkovic | Francesca Schiavone | Radek Stepanek
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Double Trouble 2
They say the sequel is often worse than the original and this iteration was on a par with Tuesday's effort. Two days ago, Francesca Schiavone sent down 16 double faults in her first-round win over Galina Voskoboeva. The Italian ironed out the gripes, as she breezed past Mirjana Lucic without any. But up stepped Jelena Dokic to take on the serving malaise. Dokic has ground strokes that are the envy of many in the game, they took her to No. 4 in the world at one stage, but her serve has always been a problem and she double faulted in every game but one - sending down 15 in all - as Jelena Jankovic took advantage to progress.

Fabulous Fed
Roger Federer produced a highlights reel in his demolition of Dudi Sela so it was not easy to pick out a stand-out moment. But the highlight was probably a stunning running forehand down the line that found its target like a missile. The pressure was off at that point given he was leading two sets and 4-2, but it really was a joy to behold and proved the movement is in the legs at the age of 30.

Dropping like flies
The withdrawals continued apace on Thursday, with Radek Stepanek and Petra Cetkovska not making it. Stepanek at least got on court, he was two sets and a break down when offering his hand to Juan Monaco, as Cetkovska pulled out before the start of her match with Ana Ivanovic. They became the sixth and seventh to withdraw at the championships. The record at a grand slam is 10.

The doctor could not save Radek Stepanek from withdrawal © PA Photos

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Putting your back into it
We've had seven withdrawals so far and there must have been a fear amongst those on Louis Armstrong Stadium that Jelena Jankovic would follow suit. The Serb complained of back problems and summoned the doctor on a couple of occasions. Treatment at courtside was not enough and she trudged into the locker room for a medical timeout. She returned and moved rather feelingly, and was repeatedly put through stretching routines, but had enough in the tank to beat Jelena Dokic in straight sets.

Dancing Queen
Andrea Petkovic battled back from a set down to beat Jie Zheng 3-6 6-3 6-3 and then treated the Grandstand crowd to a post-match treat. The 10th seed is never slow in expressing herself and threw some breakdancing shapes, asking the crowd for their approval before serving an encore. I don't think the lads from Diversity have got much to worry about, but it was nice to see a player expressing herself.

Monfils a class act
Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gael Monfils served up the match of the tournament so far, with the Spaniard digging in to claim a 7-6 (1) 5-7 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 win. The Louis Armstrong Stadium was packed to the rafters to see Ferrero close out the match with a love service game, and witnessed Monfils give his rival a standing ovation at the net. It was a superb gesture from a player who loves to entertain.

Djokovic the destroyer
Plays of the Day would not be complete after Day Four without a salute to the exquisite tennis played by Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1 dominated every facet of his match against Carlos Berlocq, but the diminutive Argentine at least claimed the biggest cheer of the night from the New York faithful. After losing the first 14 games of the match - without as much as earning a game point - Berlocq broke Djokovic early in the third set to avoid becoming the first player in 24 years to suffer a "triple bagel" - losing all sets to love - at the Open. Fans were sent into raptures, while Berlocq threw both arms skyward as though he'd just won the final.

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