US Open: Dominant Nadal storms into quarters

The Spaniard will make a first appearance in the last-eight stage of the Grand Slam since 2013 when he last won the title at the Flushing Meadows. He will face unseeded 19-year-old Andrey Rublev of Russia.

Published : Sep 04, 2017 23:49 IST

Rafael Nadal has forced his way into his seventh US Open quarterfinals of his career with win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Rafael Nadal has forced his way into his seventh US Open quarterfinals of his career with win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
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Rafael Nadal has forced his way into his seventh US Open quarterfinals of his career with win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.

World number one Rafael Nadal notched up his 50th win at the US Open on Monday to reach the quarterfinals for the seventh time.

The two-time champion, who could meet old rival Roger Federer in New York for the first time at the semifinal stage, crushed Ukraine's Alexander Dolgopolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

The Spaniard will face 19-year-old Andrey Rublev of Russia for a place in the last-four.

"I played a solid match with not many mistakes," said Nadal, the reigning French Open champion.

"He's a player who can play amazing shots but sometimes he can be very unpredictable with errors so I just waited for my opportunity."

His 23 winners on Monday were just shaded by world number 64 Dolgopolov's 25 but the Ukrainian's 39 unforced errors were more than three times those committed by Nadal.

 

Rubulev stuns Goffin

Rublev became the youngest man to make the US Open quarterfinals, since Andy Roddick in 2001, by beating Belgian ninth seed David Goffin 7-5, 7-5, 6-3. 

Ranked 53, Rublev has won 13 of his last 17 matches after breaking the top 100 for the first time in June.

He marked his entry into the top 50 by winning the Umag title as a lucky loser in July.

"Rafa is a real champion. I will try to do my best -- I have nothing to lose," said Rublev, whose push to victory on Monday was helped by Goffin suffering a left knee injury.

"It was impossible to win today," said the Belgian.

With inputs from Opta

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