NEW YORK -- Carlos Moya won the matchup between the oldest and youngest men left in the tournament and reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since 1998.
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The 31-year-old Spaniard dropped to his knees and rolled onto his back after he won a net duel with a cross-court backhand volley for the final point, beating 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 on Tuesday.
"I think it was the best point of the match. I was a bit tired, a bit nervous," Moya said.
Moya, a former No. 1 and the 1998 French Open champion, is seeded 17th at Flushing Meadows.
"I feel like 20 years old," he said. "When you're the oldest guy in the draw, you get a lot of support from the crowd, so that's a great feeling."
Moya next plays the winner of the match between No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 23 Juan Monaco.
Juan Ignacio Chela reached the quarterfinals for the first time, frustrating Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4.
The 20th-seeded Argentine sent Wawrinka to a rare five-set loss. The unseeded Swiss player had been 8-0 in Grand Slam matches that went the distance.
Chela improved to 3-8 in five-setters and won despite trailing in most every key statistic -- plus broken rackets. Wawrinka smashed one racket into the ground after losing the tiebreak and then mangled another with two mighty whacks following the loss.
Wawrinka led 65-29 in winners, 9-2 in aces and 145-142 in total points. Chela seemed to bother him by bouncing around while Wawrinka was set to serve.
Chela is playing in his seventh U.S. Open and had never gone beyond the round of 16. He lost to Wawrinka in the opening round last year.
Next up for Chela is the winner of the all-Spanish night match between No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 15 David Ferrer.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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