• US Open, Day 11

'Match of the tournament'

Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares celebrate mixed doubles final victory © Getty Images

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Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares combined to win the mixed doubles title but they came within a whisker of not even entering. Soares said: "We played twice, couple times. We know each other. I was actually set to play with Gajdosova, an Australian girl, that I have been playing with. Katia actually asked me and I was sad and I told her that unfortunately I couldn't do it and she decide not to play. But a couple minutes before the sign‑in, I thought I was out with Gajdosova, and I started looking Katia, because with her I would be in. Five minutes to go, I'm here in the referee's office and I find out Katia is practicing in the park. So I had to run ‑ actually, my coach did that. He went running all the way over there and talked to her and called me like 30 seconds to go and said, 'You can sign'. So at the very last minute, 11:59, I signed us in. I guess it worked out."

David Ferrer came through a five-set epic with Janko Tipsarevic and he admitted it was one of his most draining tests. He said: "I enjoyed a lot playing this match with Janko ‑ of course because I won. But it was a very emotional match, one of the best emotional matches of my career. It was a tough match, Janko is an amazing player and he fought so hard. I always fight for every point, that is what I tried to do today. In the fifth set I had a break down but I fought hard."

Janko Tipsarevic was happy with how he played and felt it was the match of the tournament. He said "It's not maybe the quarter-final they wanted to see, without Rafa [Nadal] being there or whatever, but I think David and me - and I'm not trying to overexaggerate anything - played the best match of the tournament."

Novak Djokovic moved into the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Juan Martin Del Potro, but he admitted the match was closer than the scoreline. He said: "Even though it was straight sets, it was much closer than the score indicated. He is a great player. I was lucky in the second set, he played some incredible points and incredible rallies. It is so much fun playing these night matches, it is special, and I am happy to be in the semi-finals. I kept being positive. He is a great player, he is the 2009 champion, he deserves to be here and I am just happy to be through. I tried to be close to the line and move him around. He is powerful and I knew I would have chances if I moved him around the court."

Looking to his meeting with David Ferrer, Djokovic said: "It is the semi-finals, David Ferrer is one of the most consistent players. He is a top-five player, people don't talk about him too much but I have so much respect for him and expect a big battle."

Bob and Mike Bryan beat Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer to reach their fifth US Open doubles final. Mike Bryan said: "We played great today and are so excited to be in another US Open final. We usually don't sleep well before big matches, but we're going to go out there tomorrow and give it hell."

Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes moved into the doubles final as s Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez retired, with the latter injured. Paes said: "I wish Marc all the best because both he and Marcel are great guys. This is our livelihood and we come out to work hard and put on a show for you guys, so he definitely deserves respect."

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