Dom’s jolly but Nadal lies in wait
DOMINIC THIEM sent last year’s finalist Kevin Anderson crashing out of the US Open with a straight sets win over the South African at Flushing Meadows.
Austrian ninth seed Thiem won 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 in Louis Armstrong Stadium to stay on course to reach his second Grand Slam final after booking a place in the last eight at Flushing Meadows.
Thiem lost to Rafa Nadal at this year’s French Open in his first major final appearance and now has to face the Spaniard again in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Thiem had a two-set lead over Juan Martin del Potro at the same stage last year and squandered two match points, but there was no danger of him blowing his chance here with a composed display. He broke late in the first set and twice in the second to set up a commanding lead, then controlled the third-set tiebreak to book his place in the quarterfinals.
Anderson admitted he was beaten by the better player and said: “I definitely felt he played a great match. He made life pretty difficult for me and defended amazingly.
“Overall I didn’t feel I played poorly. I did quite a few things well, but hats off to him. I thought he stepped up. He was definitely the better player.
“Of course it’s disappointing. I wanted to be here right till the end and put myself in contention of winning my first major but it wasn’t meant to be. He played a great match. Best of luck to him throughout the tournament.” Nadal battled his way to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 win over Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who produced an inspired performance but fell just short.
Nadal said: “There have been so many tough matches in a row. He played fantastic. A lot of credit to Nikoloz, he hit the ball very hard.
“It seems like I was not in control of the points even when I was hitting good shots, so I’m very happy to be through.
“I improved with my level by the time of the fourth set. He was playing very aggressively. The first two sets were tough because there was no rhythm in the match. This was a physical one, but I feel good.
“It will be a tough one against Thiem. He hits the ball strong and has a big serve. For him to win against Kevin Anderson – I saw the beginning of the match and he was playing solid.”
Jamie Murray, meanwhile, progressed to the quarter-finals in the mixed doubles after partnering American Bethanie Mattek-Sands to a 6-4, 7-6 win over Juan Sebastian Cabal and Abigail Spears.
Murray won the event with Martina Hingis last year and is now Britain’s only hope at Flushing Meadows.
He is also still in the mens’s doubles alongside Brazilian Bruno Soares. They face Dutch duo Matwe Middelkoop and Robin Haase in the last 16 today.
He was the better player