Gilles Simon was playing the world's top-ranked player in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and his mind was thousands of miles away.
''The third set, I have to say that I was already in the plane,'' Simon said after losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
He had his new son to meet.
The Frenchman arrived at the U.S. Open thinking all he had to worry about was winning matches. His first child wasn't due for four weeks back home, so the one-time top-10 player could focus on trying to improve his ranking as he comes back from a knee injury.
That all changed Friday.
''The night it was OK. When I woke up in the morning, she told me, 'Baby is coming,''' Simon said. ''So it was strange feeling. I mean, I was alone in my room. I definitely didn't want to be there, but I couldn't do anything.''
The 42nd-ranked Simon was relieved that his third-round match against Nadal was scheduled for the afternoon, which meant he could catch a flight home Sunday if he lost. His coach was making the travel arrangements while Simon tried to get through his post-match news conference as quickly as possible.
Nadal won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, then congratulated Simon on becoming a father.
''He knows that I'm not really sad today, even if I lost,'' Simon said.
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SPAIN'S REIGN: The Spanish men have been so dominant at the U.S. Open that they've already guaranteed one of them will reach the semifinals.
Six of the 16 men in the fourth round are from Spain. Four make up one corner of the draw, ensuring there will be an all-Spanish quarterfinal.
The six Spanish men in the tournament's fourth round tie the most for a foreign country since the Open era began in 1968. Australia also had six way back in 1969. It's the most for any country since the United States had eight in 1995.
''Especially is very positive because I think, for the ball and for the court, is probably the most difficult tournament for us, no?'' top-ranked Rafael Nadal said. ''So that is very important news for the Spanish tennis.''
Nadal, eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, No. 10 David Ferrer, No. 23 Feliciano Lopez and unseeded Tommy Robredo won Sunday to join No. 21 Albert Montanes in the fourth round. Ferrer beat countryman Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Only Nicolas Almagro lost Sunday. The 14th-seeded Almagro fell to 20th-seeded American Sam Querrey.
Nadal will face Lopez and Ferrer takes on Verdasco in the Spanish Invitational portion of the bracket.
''If you need to lose, it's better to lose against a Spanish player, then at least one guy is going to be there one round more, no?'' Verdasco said.
Spain had never advanced more than four men to the U.S. Open fourth round.
''Before we were the best on clay,'' Lopez said. ''Now we win on grass, on everywhere, no?''
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COURT KISS: Francesca Schiavone provided one of tennis' most memorable images of the year when she kissed the clay in winning her first Grand slam title at the French Open. So what might she do at the hard-court U.S. Open?
''I didn't test with my lips, but I think I will do something,'' the sixth-seeded Italian said Sunday after advancing to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
A championship is still a long way away, she cautioned.
''So it will be a secret,'' Schiavone said.
Her time in New York has included a trip to a restaurant in Little Italy. She used a food analogy to explain how her ability to mix up shots allows her to be successful on the hard courts even though she grew up playing on clay.
''It's like capricciosa pizza,'' Schiavone said of the dish loaded with mushrooms, artichokes, ham and olives.
''I don't give you margherita, I give you capricciosa - different kind of ingredient.''
Schiavone's game certainly wasn't plain margherita-style Sunday as she beat 20th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-0. She was sneaking peaks at a TV on the wall during her news conference afterward to see who her next opponent would be. Third-seeded Venus Williams went on to win that match to set up a meeting with Schiavone, against whom the American is 7-0.
Williams and Schiavone, both 30, are the two oldest women left in the draw.
''Obviously her game is better than ever now,'' said Williams, who is six days older. ''Seems like everybody is hitting their stride at 30. It's the new 20.''
