Davydenko battles back

The Russian said: "I think I was lucky. But it was tough, I was 5-2 (up in the final set) then break point and 5-4 and I didn"t know what I could do, but I am happy to be in the semi-finals."

It was Davydenko who impressed early on, flying out of the blocks in much the same way as he had done against Murray. He broke Haas in just the third game of the match, showing himself ready to step inside the baseline and take the initiative.

His early verve disappeared though as Haas found his feet, reeling off four games in succession to take the first set 6-4.

The second set saw neither man willing to give an inch, with Haas' groundstrokes failing him at vital moments on the Davydenko serve, and the Russian unable to get to grips with his opponents' serve.

But it was Haas who was the more comfortable throughout the set, and indeed this was reflected in the tie-break. Haas raced into a 3-0 lead, and though Davydenko rallied, the big German closed it out 7-3.

Despite the setback, Davydenko never lost his determination to work his way back into the match, and he capitalised on hesitancy from Haas at 4-3 in the third set to break.

Davydenko appeared to rediscover some of his early form, and Haas' grew more and more frustrated at the change in momentum, berating himself after errors.

The Russian closed out the third set, and indeed it came as no surprise that he broke again at the vital moment in the fourth. On the attack again, Davydenko forced a forehand error from his opponent at 4-4 to earn two breakpoints, and when Haas subsequently double-faulted, it appeared the balance of power had shifted for the final time.

Gaining confidence from levelling the match at two sets all, Davydenko broke Haas' serve in the first game of the third set.

Haas broke back immediately but was ultimately unable to keep up with the determined play from Davydenko who broke again in the fifth and seventh games to take a 5-2 lead.

The match looked all but over as an increasingly frustrated and tired Haas seemed to be running out of options, but out of nowhere the German fashioned a come-back and almost levelled the match again at 5-5.

Davydenko was determined not to squander the chance to reach only his second great slam semi-final and closed out the match on his second match-point.

The Russian - who joins compatriot Mikhail Youzhny in the semi-finals - will now face Roger Federer but does not seem intimidated about that fact.

"I didn"t play so well on hard courts but now I prove I play better and better," he said.

"I reach the semi-final of the US Open on hard court, that, for me is already something special.

"I reached my best result in the semi-final. So I just need to come to the court, not be nervous for the semis."