Tiny Nation, Big Feat: Qualifier Keeps Going.

When the last shot of a long and hot afternoon slapped against the top of the net and fell back to his opponent's side, Gilles Muller did not scream, as he had when he won each of the first two sets. He just stood for a moment near the umpire's chair, basking in his own sense of relief. For once, Muller, an improbable qualifier for this United States Open, did not need five sets to dispatch an opponent. He did it in four grueling ones, defeating the No. 5 seed, Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10), advancing to face the No. 2 seed, Roger Federer, in the quarterfinals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]