Nadal moves on to quarterfinals against Thiem

Rafael Nadal is NEW YORK — back in the U.S. Open quarterfinals after beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 on Sunday. The defending champion will next face No. 9 seed Dominic Thiem

a rematch of Nadal’s victory — in the French Open final and their first meeting not on clay.

The top-ranked Spaniard improved to 8-2 in fourthround matches in the U.S. Open, rebounding from dropping the tiebreaker in the third set Sunday to break the Georgian’s serve twice in the fourth set.

Thiem eliminated 2017 U.S. Open finalist Kevin Anderson with a 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory in the fourth round. Anderson was hoping to earn a rematch with Nadal, who beat him last year in the final at Flushing Meadows.

Serena solid: Serena Williams felt she played her best match since her return to tennis while routing her sister in the last round. Williams was to face Kaia Kanepi in a fourth-round match Sunday.

Serena, seeded 17th, routed Venus Williams 6-1, 6-2 Friday, matching the most-lopsided victory in the Williams sisters’ series. That put her into the match against Kanepi, the 44th-ranked Estonian who upset top-ranked Simona Halep in the first round.

Late night/early morning for Cilic: Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, needed eight match points to recover from a two-set deficit and eventually edge 19-year-old Alex de Minaur 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 at 2:22 a.m. on Sunday, four minutes shy of the latest finish in the tournament’s history.

The No. 7-seeded Cilic and 45th-ranked de Minaur didn’t even start their third-round match until after 10 p.m., because of day-session matches that ran long Saturday.