Rafael Nadal (Twitter)
No.2 seed Rafael Nadal defeated Richard Gasquet 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 to progress to the fourth round of US Open
Rafael Nadal was in devastating form at the US Open on Saturday night, defeating Richard Gasquet, 6-0, 6-1, 7-5, to improve to 22-0 at Grand Slam this year. And there’s another unbeaten record he extended, too: Nadal is now 18-0 in his career in tour-level matches against Gasquet, tying the record for best-undefeated tour-level head-to-head record for a man in the Open Era. Nadal has also won his last 34 sets in a row against Gasquet, a stretch that dates back to the Masters 1000 event in Canada in 2008.
After being dealt a blow on the nose with his own racket in his second-round victory over Fabio Fognini, it was smooth sailing this time for Nadal, who was happy with his step up in performance.”It’s a little bit bigger than usual but it’s OK, the nose is still there,” he said with a smile, speaking after the match. Nadal, who still has not lost a grand slam match this year, next plays American Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round.
Good wishes and congratulatory messages poured in for Nadal on Twitter. Let us take a look at some of the reactions.
“Yeah one more match & one more solid win….Rafa on mission now, very near to his 23rd GS. You are truly masterclass WOW”, wrote a die-hard Nadal fan.
“?? Did Richard sleep in between the game ?Statpadding king roaring in absence of Nole”, trolled a Djokovic fan.
“Yesterday the tournament broke its all-time attendance record with Serena and today they’ve broken it again lol”, tweeted another fan.
“Gasquet lost to himself. What a boring and weak match”, read another tweet.
“Rafa is going to be difficult to stop”, wrote another fan.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates