Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic was ousted from the US Open when Spain's Albert Costa triumphed 6-4 7-6 7-6 to reach the quarter finals at Flushing Meadows this evening. The 15th seed from Croatia fired 24 aces but is struggling with painkillers for a sore shoulder that will require surgery at the end of the year.
Ivanisevic lost the second set tie-break 7-4 and the last one 7-2 to drop his fourth match in a row against 40th-ranked Costa, who beat the lanky Croat three times last season. 29-year-old Ivanisevic, who registered a remarkable victory at Wimbledon as a wild card, had won his first two matches at the National Tennis Centre in straight sets.
But fifty unforced errors, thirty more than Costa, proved his downfall as the Spaniard advanced in two hours and nine minutes to a fourth-round match against either top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil or Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
Filed by Shane Murray
