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Mardy Fish has been on a roll at the U.S. Open, despite an uncertain coaching situation.

Four Points

NEW YORK -- In lieu of our regular programming, we present Four Points to think about as we await one of the more intriguing upcoming matches, the quarterfinal between top seed Rafael Nadal and No. 35 Mardy Fish:

No place like home:
Fish has struggled to find the right coaching solution in the past few years: He's worked with Scott Humphries, Todd Martin, Kelly Jones and Bo Hodge. His partnership with Craig Boynton appears to be a winning one, and he didn't have to go far to find him.

Boynton works for Saddlebrook Academy, the Tampa-area facility where Fish trains. The coach is also, coincidentally, Jones' brother-in-law -- they're married to twins.

Boynton, who's been traveling with Fish since before this year's Australian Open, said he knew him well and had a leg up on diagnosing what would push him to the next level. Fish had already started on a big part of that by honing his fitness with trainer Rory Cordial.

"Mardy was always dinged up, something was always breaking down," Boynton said of Fish, who spent much of the 2005 season on the sideline after undergoing two wrist surgeries. "It was tough for him to play consecutive good matches. Rory has brought him a quiet confidence and toughness. He's in a great spot."

Boynton said his advice for Fish before his match against Nadal, against whom Fish is 0-4, will be simple: "The sole intent is to be aggressive, serve and volley and come forward. The opponent is going to have to come up with a passing shot."

Fish's forehand has been his Achilles' heel in the past, but Boynton added that he's not fixated on Fish's number of errors as much as how he makes them. "I want him to be aggressive and create opportunities," the coach said. "The point should be won or lost most of the time on his racket."

Full-service gasoline
More than one writer noticed the bizarre numbers that emerged during Fish's win over France's Gael Monfils. As Boynton observed, Fish lives and dies by the serve-and-volley game, so according to one line on the stat sheet, he should have been slain. Fish got a meager 47 percent of his first serves in, compared to 70 percent of Monfils' first serves. But Fish capitalized on 80 percent of the first serves he did land, including a perfect 11-for-11 in the third set, and saved six of seven break points against him while pilfering six of 13 from his opponent.

Fish prevailed because no matter how he served, he didn't hang back. He played a whopping 69 net points and won 45 of them. He'd be well advised to stay in that assertive mode because neither he nor most other players can match Nadal's lateral movement on (or behind) the baseline. "If he's aggressive and comes in at the right times, especially to Nadal's backhand, I think he could have a shot," said Sam Querrey, who kept Nadal's hands full during their four-set tilt.

No rest for the cheery
Nadal has played 82 matches this year, Fish 52. We don't have access to their frequent-flier accounts, but it's a good bet that Nadal has piled up more, given his successful August trip to (and from) Beijing. "Probably I am not in the freshest moment in my life, but I am fine," he said after beating Querrey. Nadal looked as if he was dragging a little during stretches of that match, but he's still the best in the game right now at playing big points.

Although Nadal and Fish have spent virtually the same amount of time on court during this tournament, Fish has to be considered the fresher of the two and has brought both consistency and a new intensity to the table at this tournament. He needs to use both those things to his advantage. Twice Monday, he described himself as "desperate" to do well here, then later clarified -- sort of.

"I don't feel like time is running out at all," said Fish, 26, whose only other foray this deep in a major was at the 2007 Australian Open, where close friend Andy Roddick stopped him in his tracks. "However, these are the best of the best, and it's not every tournament that, you know, I make the quarters of a Slam," Fish continued. "It's not every Slam. It's only happened twice now, so I want to & I've always wanted to do well here. I think, obviously, I'm not unbelievably & well, maybe I am desperate, yes," he concluded, smiling sheepishly as the press corps chuckled.

His father, Tom, who celebrated his 56th birthday by watching the win, might have expressed things more clearly. "I think he's ready to fulfill his dreams," said Tom Fish, who was his son's first coach. "I think he thinks he's got more in him."

Up close and personal
Fish hasn't showed any signs of choking under pressure here, but his fiancee, Stacey Gardner, revealed that he had a little trouble closing out the point when it came to proposing. The two met through mutual friends when Fish played in her hometown of Los Angeles two years ago. Gardner said she had just graduated from law school and passed the California bar exam but took a detour into show business when she was offered a job as a briefcase model on the "Deal or No Deal" game show, which is about to enter its fourth season. After Fish's first-round loss to Marat Safin in L.A., Gardner said he called her every day. "He was very sweet. He did all the right things."

Fish later surprised her by popping the question on a walk by the ocean in his hometown of Vero Beach, Fla. There was just one problem: It was a cold, drizzly, gloomy day, and Gardner couldn't understand why he was insisting on such a long, romantic stroll. "He told me later that he was telling himself, 'Come on! Suck it up! No one wants to be out here!'" she said. Fish finally hit a winner, and the couple will marry Sept. 28 in Southern California, where they've bought a second home to supplement Fish's Florida digs.

Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.