Nadal eases past Pospisil to reach US Open third round
NEW YORK: Defending champion Rafael Nadal eased into the third round of the US Open with a regulation 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over unseeded Vasek Pospisil on Wednesday.
A fresh-looking Nadal, whose first round match was cut short after opponent David Ferrer retired with a calf injury midway through the second set, started brightly against the Canadian and never looked back.
The top-seeded Spaniard wrapped up the opening set in 35 minutes after breaking early to go 3-0 up as Pospisil, ranked 88th in the world, struggled to settle into a serving rhythm.
The Canadian rallied briefly in the second set, improving his first serve percentage and managing to break Nadal to lead briefly, but the world number one broke back immediately and went on to win four games in a row to seize complete control.
“In the second set I had two games in a row where I had trouble with my serve,” Nadal said in a courtside interview. “The first one I saved, the second NEW YORK: Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova stunned two-times Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza at the US Open on Wednesday, dumping the Spaniard out in the second round with a three-set victory.
Muchova, who came into the match against the 12th seed with a world ranking of 202, was understandably nervous from the outset but grew into the contest and eventually prevailed 3-6 one I couldn’t. I was lucky to be able to break back.
“To win in straight sets is always positive.”
Nadal started the third set on the front foot, breaking early once again as Pospisil ran out of steam. The Spaniard wrapped the contest in exactly two hours, and will next face Russian prospect Karen Khachanov, the 27th seed.
Playing his second night match in a row, Nadal looked a lot more comfortable in the muggy conditions than he did against Ferrer, who was down 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes. Muguruza, a former world number one who has triumphed at Wimbledon and the French Open, showed plenty of her Grand Slam pedigree by racing into a 5-0 lead as she appeared on course for a routine victory.
The Spaniard closed out the opener in 37 minutes and few of those watching the match unfold would have predicted what was to follow. a set but up a break against his fellow Spaniard when he was forced to retire in the first round.
The weather has been one of the main talking points of the first week at Flushing Meadows, with high temperatures and humidity forcing organisers to impose “extreme heat” rules to give the players some relief.
The 32-year-old Nadal said he was looking forward to the end of the week, when rain is expected.
“We’ll be able to see better tennis than what we saw first couple of days of the US Open,”
Muchova, playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time, quickly turned the tables at the start of the second set, evening up the contest after she opened a 3-0 lead on the back of some brave shot-making.
“It’s the first match for me on such a big stadium so I was feeling nervous. Somehow I got used to it, I don’t know how,” the 22-year-old said in a courtside interview. added the 17 times Grand Slam champion.
“Playing under these conditions is, first thing, not healthy, and second thing, is not good for nobody — not good for the fans, not good for the players. The show is a little bit worse under these conditions.”
“I don’t even know. I was surviving but I think the (fans) helped me a lot.”
After she settled, Muchova displayed an adept ability to mix up her play, slogging it out from the baseline before picking the right moments to charge the net.
Muguruza, a traditional baseliner, tried to change her tactics to regain the initiative but Muchova kept her at bay with a selection of passing shots and lobs every time the Spaniard ventured forward. Overall, Muchova hit eight aces and 41 winners as she rallied from a break down in the deciding set to seal victory and claim the biggest win of her career as the clock ticked past 1:00 am at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Next up for the Czech is a thirdround meeting with Australian 18th seed Ashleigh Barty.