Nadal rallies to reach fourth round.
NEW YORK - No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal rallied after dropping the first set again, moving into the fourth round with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Leonardo Mayer with the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium closed because of rain.
Just as in his win over Taro Daniel on Thursday, Nadal started slowly before finding the range on his punishing shots and dominated the next three sets.
The two-time U.S. Open champion advanced to the round of 16 for the ninth time and will play unseeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine.
Mayer fell to 1-25 against top-10 opponents.
No. 6 Dominic Thiem and No. 9 David Goffin remain alive in their half of the men’s bracket. No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta is the top seed in the other, which will send a firsttime Grand Slam finalist to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the championship match next Sunday.
Thiem eased into the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 30 Adrian Mannarino of France. He will next face No. 24 seed Juan Martin del Potro. The 2009 champion swept past No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
“I think that bottom half of the draw is going to be surprising for one guy. But in the top half, you have Roger and Rafa, Dominic, as well, and they are favorites to win a Grand Slam title, for sure,” del Potro said.
Goffin won his match when No. 18 Gael Monfils of France retired with knee, back and arm injuries with Goffin leading, 7-5, 5-1.
Monfils had been dealing with a right knee injury since Wimbledon but when asked why he quit Saturday, initially responded: “The body. Whole body.”
In women’s play, topranked Karolina Pliskova had to battle back to move on.
Pliskova fought off a match point in the second set and rallied to beat No. 27 Zhang Shuai of China, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the fourth round.
The runner-up last year needs to at least return to the final for a chance to remain atop the rankings when the year’s final major tournament is over, and it appeared for a while that the Czech wouldn’t get close.
But she stayed alive while trailing, 4-5, in the second set, then pulled out the third after receiving treatment from a trainer on her right forearm between sets.
“Last Grand Slam of the season and knowing you played fine last year, you just want to play that good again,” Pliskova said. “I don’t feel like I’m playing that good again, but I’m still in the draw, actually, so I’m not going to be that sad.”
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina are the other women who can still get to No. 1. Svitolina advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over American Shelby Rogers, who won the longest women’s match in U.S. Open history on Thursday when she beat No. 25 Daria Gavrilova in 3 hours, 33 minutes.
This one went 1:33, ending when Svitolina’s forehand hit the tape and barely fell over the net onto Rogers’ side.
Pliskova, who fell to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 final, would need to win the tournament if Muguruza reaches the semifinals and loses. If Muguruza advances to the final, Pliskova would be eliminated from contention for the WTA’s top ranking.
“It’s not only about the points, but I just felt I really can play well here,” said Pliskova.
Another American advanced when No. 20 seed CoCo Vandeweghe outlasted No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.