NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 31: Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot to Andreas Seppi of Italy during his second round Men's Singles match on Day Three of the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal continued his brilliance on Wednesday by defeating Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in one of the most contested games this week at the men’s US Open.
Nadal’s famous backhand and side-to-side coverage was in full display, as he quickly went 4-0 on Schwartzman. But his Argentine opponent would not relent and showed his front-to-back control, which brought Nadal running to the net only to hit far behind him without going out-of-bounds on a few occasions. This tactic brilliantly put Schwartzman back in the set at 4-4. After coming from behind on the second set, Nadal was up 5-0 before Schwartzman tied it up 5-5 to win 7-5. The last set was all Nadal.
With stars such as Ben Stiller in attendance, the match became a battle of wills, as two high competitors met each other’s match by winning points in similar fashion. The contest showed that the No. 21-ranked Schwartzman’s game meshes well with the men’s world No. 2.
Nadal — who has won three U.S. Open titles — looked patient, as he knew the only way to win was to hit clean and wait for Schwartzman to make a mistake. On occasional rallies close to the net, Nadal hit the ball high in the air instead, causing Schwartzman to try spiking it. The Argentine sometimes ending up hitting the net, however.
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The Spaniard has won all eight of their matches, yet many of those have not come easy, especially the hard surface games. Nadal is known as one of the best clay surface players, as he has beat Schwartzman more convincingly on clay, with his closest matches coming on hard outdoor courts.
Nadal is now the highest-ranked player left in the tournament, as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are both out. If Nadal losses, it would mark the first time in over a decade one of the “Big Three” does not win the cup.
The 33-year-old is set to face Italian player Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals Friday at 11 a.m. EST. Berrettini and Nadal have never face each other before but the latter is still heavily favored to win.
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