Nadal perseveres to reach fourth round
NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal’s right knee was bothering him. His decade-younger, barrel-chested foe at the U.S. Open was bashing the ball.
The tournament’s 2017 champion was two points away from falling into a two-set hole. Then he was two points away from dropping the third set. Then he was one point from losing the fourth set and being pushed to a fifth.
As all of those key moments presented themselves, he managed to come through. The world’s top-ranked player overcame a shaky start Friday and used his customary relentless style to wear down No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov physically and mentally, eventually getting to the fourth round with an entertaining, back-and-forth 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) victory that took 4 hours, 23 minutes to complete.
“I escaped a very tough situation,” Nadal said, “so it’s a great thing.”
The man he beat in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, No. 5 Kevin Anderson, got through his own tough test against an up-and-coming opponent, edging No. 28 Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
After Nadal ceded the opening set, he had a trainer put tape under his right knee, which has caused problems off and on for the Spaniard over the years. Nadal later got more wrapping there during a 10-minute break at 5-all in the second set while the retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was shut because of light rain.
Just prior to the delay, Khachanov had served for that set at 5-4, and three times he was two points away from taking it — but he couldn’t get closer than that. Nadal broke for 5-all and, after the delay, broke again to even it at a set apiece, aided by two double-faults from
Khachanov.
When Nadal earned that set with a passing shot that drew an errant volley, he crouched and yelled. Folks sitting in his guest box rose. A chunk of the crowd gave a standing ovation. Khachanov swatted a ball in disgust.
Nadal said the brief break was just what he needed.
“I just trying to calm myself for a moment. He was playing well,” Nadal said. “But for me, the most important thing is have the right tempo when I am playing. For some moments I felt things were going too fast in my mind. I didn’t take the time to do the right steps, to go to the ball with the right decision, with the right determination, with the
right timing.”
Overall, he handled the particularly crucial points better than Khachanov did, which really should come as no surprise given the disparity in age, experience and success. One man, the 32-year-old Nadal, owns 17 Grand Slam titles, three at Flushing Meadows. The other, the 22-year-old Khachanov, has never been past the fourth round at a major tournament.
The sort of big hitting the 6-foot-6, 192-pound Russian displayed Friday, including 22 aces and booming groundstrokes, bodes well for his future.
“That just shows that I’m really close to this high level against top guys,” Khachanov
said. “Hopefully it will be soon on my side.”
After they finished, Ashe was the site for Serena Williams versus Venus Williams, Part 30. Serena won 6-1, 6-2 to match the most lopsided victory ever over her sister. It was their earliest meeting at a Grand Slam in 20 years.
“It’s not easy,” Serena said, despite how easy it looked in a match that lasted just 1 hour, 12 minutes. “She’s my best friend. She means the world to me. Every time she loses, I feel like I do.”
Earlier, Sloane Stephens revealed a lot more emotion on that court than she usually shows anywhere, all of the double
fist pumps making perfectly clear just how tight and tense things had been during her 6-3, 6-4 win against two-time tournament runner-up Victoria Azarenka.
Stephens, the No. 3 seed and the tournament’s reigning women’s singles champion, grabbed the last three games after returning from a brief break while the Ashe roof was shut (it was then reopened before Nadal faced Khachanov).
Stephens went from up a set and ahead 3-1 in the second to down 4-3 when Azarenka took three games in a row. That’s when rain came.
“The man upstairs,” Stephens said, “was looking out for me.”