US Open Roundup – Rafael Nadal on course
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Rafael Nadal has been made to work hard in the US Open and the third round tie against Argentina's Leonardo Mayer was no other case. The Spaniard eventually came out with flying colours as he took the match in four sets with a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1 6-4 score line. Even though the 31 year old lost the first set to a motivated Mayer, Nadal bounced back with his usual aggressive style of play and finished the game in three hours and 16 minutes.
The 15 times Grand Slam winner will now be facing Alexandr Dolgopolov, the towering Ukrainian in the fourth round of the US Open. Nadal himself conceded that all his matches have been very tight but he is happy with how he has been holding up. The Spaniard won the French Open this year and is hoping to make the double by winning the US Open as well.
Nadal did lose out in the first set tiebreak, but it was only a matter of time before we would see glimpses of the old Rafa. The 31 year old has always played with a certain flare and panache and it was evident that Mayer was struggling against him.
But Nadal still has room for improvement. The Spaniard lost out on a lot of break points throughout the four sets, 13 to be precise. Mayer was unable to take advantage of that but as he moves forward in the competition, the opponent will only become better and they might be able to capitalize on these mistakes. But as of now, all signs point towards a high voltage clash against Roger Federer for Nadal in the semifinal if both the greats of the game manage to win all their matches.
Match Stats
