Rafael Nadal has reached the fourth round of the US Open for the ninth time in his career after outlasting a spirited Leonardo Mayer 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
Emulating his previous match at Flushing Meadows, the world No.1 struggled to exert his dominance from the onset. Instead, he was met with some fierce resistance from Mayer. A world No.59 player who recently won his second ATP title at the German Open.
Opportunities came and went for Nadal throughout the opening set, but his inability to convert break points cost him dearly. A duo of unforced errors swiftly moved Mayer to a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker, before he sealed his first ever set against Nadal in their fourth tour meeting.
The match was very much a tale of two halves. The first saw Nadal moving tentatively around the court, appearing nervous. The mood of the Spaniard didn’t change until 116 minutes into the match. On his 14th break point opportunity he finally converted to move ahead 4-3 in the second set. It was the medicine that a lacklustre Nadal required. He was finally able to live up to expectations by dictating the rallies and delighting the New York crowd with a selection of seemingly unplayable shots.
“I was in a tough situation for a while in the (first) set and I had a couple break points at the beginning of the second. I was there mentally. I fought a lot until that moment (breaking in the second set) and then I think I played better.” Nadal said during his on-court interview.
As Nadal surged back to full power, Mayer began to crumble. He had no answers to the questions asked on court by the top seed. Resulting in a one-sided third set with Nadal winning 69% of points. Order was restored on the Arthur Ashe court, but still concerns surrounding the current state of Nadal’s game continued.
After a shaky start, strolling to the win proved to be a tricky task for the 10-time French Open champion. His ability to hit the ball deep in the court triggered errors from Mayer, which eventually elevated him to a game away from victory. Still, the work wasn’t done. A 5-2 lead was swiftly cut to 5-4 in the fourth set, placing Nadal under pressure once again.
Cheered on by an animated crowd inside the Arthur Ashe stadium, Nadal finally triumphed on his second attempt to serve for the match. After over three hours of play, a Mayer forehand drifted long to reward him victory.
Dolgopolov next
Coming through with a winner-error ratio of 39-26, the 31-year-old is eager to improve his performance. One area the Spaniard has particularly highlighted is his forehand.
“I think the forehand, no.” He replied when asked what he needs to improve. “At the end of the match was hitting some forehands and I was creating some spaces to the opponent. At the beginning, it’s true that I created a few opportunities, but I felt that when I was hitting my forehand he had too many chances to go for the point. That’s something I need to fix.”
“I think I am doing this better than a couple days ago, so I need to keep going.” added Nadal.
In the last 16 on Monday, Nadal will play Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov defeated Viktor Troicki in straight sets earlier in the day. The Ukrainian will play in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2011.
“I’m not a young player anymore. I don’t think I’m going to get intimidated by the No. 1 player or the stadium or the occasion.” He said about playing the world No.1.
“If I’m comfortable, I’m healthy. I’ll just go there and try to win, because I beat him in three sets, but obviously a five-set match, only thing that worries me is staying mentally there and physically next to him, because he’s really strong physically, I think.”
Nadal has lost to the world No.64 twice before on a hard-court and grass. On the other hand, he won their most recent meeting in straight sets at this year’s Brisbane International. Overall, Nadal leads the head-to-head 6-2.
