World No.2 Rafael Nadal has insisted that his body is holding up well after coming through a testing quarter-final clash at the US Open.
The 18-time grand slam champion battled his way to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, win over Diego Schwartzman. Recording his eighth consecutive victory over the Argentine player on the tour. He has now dropped only one set so far in the tournament, which was against 2014 champion Marin Cilic in the previous round. Against Schwartzman, Nadal hit 39 to 35 unforced errors as he converted eight out of his 14 break point opportunities.
“I’m feeling good. Today (Wednesday) was a very humid day, very heavy day. I had some cramps in the end of the second (set) and the first five games, six games of the third.” Said Nadal.
“I took some salt, that’s all, and then it was over.’
“The body is in good shape, I think. No, not big problems. Just of course now a little bit tired.”
Despite the seemingly straightforward score, Nadal didn’t have everything his own way against Schwartzman. In the first set he lost four games in a row to squander a 4-0 advantage. Then in the second, the same occurred with a 5-1 lead being wiped away. Despite the blips, he managed to fight back to restore the lead on court en route to victory.
“Like a lion in the … jungle. He’s big. He’s a fighter. He knows how to play the important moments, every single time,” Schwartzman said. “I’ve played him eight times and every important moment, he played better than me.”
Nadal is now the overwhelming favourite to clinch the men’s title in Flushing Meadows this year. He is the only grand slam champion and only member of the big three remaining in the draw. Novak Djokovic retired injured from his fourth round match and Roger Federer lost in the quarter-finals to Grigor Dimitrov.
Italian underdog Matteo Berrettini will be Nadal’s opponent in the semi-final. Berrettini edged out Gael Monfils in a five-set thriller during what is his best-ever grand slam run. The upcoming match will be the first meeting between the two.
“Berrettini is having a great year. He’s in the semifinals winning a lot of good matches, so it’s what you can expect in a semifinal of a Grand Slam match. You can’t expect an easy opponent. You can’t expect an easy match.” Nadal previewed.
“I really believe that if you want to win tournaments, you need to go through tough opponents like I had against Marin, against Diego.”
“He’s serving huge, big forehands, moving well, and big confidence because he’s having a great year. So let’s see. I need to play my best.”
The 33-year-old is edging closer to Federer’s all-time grand slam record of 20. Should he win the US Open title, it would be the 19th major title of his career. He would also become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win the event for a fourth time.
Nadal’s US Open semi-final clash with Berrettini will take place on Friday.
