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Crowd getting in on fun at Roddick’s retirement party

NEW YORK - Knowing full well each match could be his last, Andy Roddick is putting on a show while soaking up every moment along the way.

So when he pounded a forehand passing shot to win a 20-stroke point Sunday, Roddick thrust both arms overhead, motioning to the full house of U.S. Open spectators to make even more noise. Moments later, after a winning volley, Roddick wagged his index finger while chugging back to the baseline.

Channeling his inner Jimmy Connors, Roddick is having a grand ol' time at his retirement party - and he's not done yet.

Winning a second consecutive match since announcing the U.S. Open will be the last tournament of his career, 2003 champion Roddick stuck around at least a little longer by getting past 59th-ranked Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the third round.

"I'd be an idiot not to use the crowd right now. It's a huge advantage," Roddick said. "Each match is almost like it's another memory."

What comes next could really be memorable. In the fourth round Tuesday, the last American man to win a Grand Slam title will face 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (9) in an all-Argentine match.

"I'm going to have to serve well, kind of try to rush him a little bit," Roddick said of del Potro. "When he gets into a groove and has time, he'll put a hurt on the ball."

Looking ahead, the seventh-seeded del Potro said he wasn't about to get too sentimental about Roddick's impending departure from tennis.

"I know this is special, this day, for him, but I'm doing my job," said del Potro, whose major trophy is the only of the past 30 that wasn't won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

"The crowd loves Andy here," del Potro said, "and they have respect (for) me."

Djokovic, the defending champion, beat No. 31 Julien Benneteau in straight sets and will meet No. 18 Stanislas Wawrinka for a quarterfinal berth.

Also advancing: No. 4 David Ferrer, who got past two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and now meets No. 13 Richard Gasquet, who eliminated two-time NCAA champion Steve Johnson 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, who will face No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Kohlschreiber rallied past No. 9 John Isner of the United States, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

In women's action, Maria Sharapova got back to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2006 title, taking control of a back-and-forth match after a 75-minute rain delay and beating No. 19 Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Sharapova will play No. 11 Marion Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, who came back to defeat 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka beat 73rd-ranked Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time. Azarenka has lost only 10 games through four matches heading into a showdown against defending champion Sam Stosur, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain, whose breakthrough run included wins over past major champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na.

Robson beat Clijsters in the second round Wednesday, sending the 29-year-old Belgian into retirement. It was the next day, Roddick's 30th birthday, that he surprisingly said he had decided to walk away from the sport following this tournament.

Sunday just happened to be five-time U.S. Open champion Connors' 60th birthday - and on the same date in 1991, Connors celebrated his 39th by coming back to beat Aaron Krickstein in five sets to reach the Open quarterfinals, a match replayed often during rain delays in more recent times.

Connors, who later briefly coached Roddick, was at his rabble-rousing, crowd-goading best on that day 21 years ago. In a nice twist, Roddick was in New York then, a kid who was treated to tickets as a present to celebrate his ninth birthday.

"That was my first taste of live tennis, and it was that run," Roddick recalled, "so that's as good as it gets."

He and Fognini provided their own brand of entertainment, though Roddick is not at his best because of a sore right shoulder. A couple of months ago, Roddick lowered the tension in his racket strings so he could, he explained while pointing to that shoulder, "get a little sling action in it and help the old Hamburger Helper here."

Asked how that key part of his body feels, Roddick said: "It's not great. But, you know, it's good enough. I've got, max, a week of tennis left, so it's good enough for that."

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