Rafael Nadal (Twitter)
The legendary Spaniard Rafael Nadal has given us glimpses of his brilliance during his first two matches at this year’s US Open. He would be hopeful of producing a more complete performance against Richard Gasquet in the third round of the competition.
The experienced Frenchman’s best result this season has been reaching the semifinals of the Geneva Open. He came into the US Open on the back of a quarterfinal run at the Winston-Salem Open.
The 36-year-old began his campaign at Flushing Meadows with a win in four sets against Japan’s Taro Daniel. In the second round, Gasquet defeated Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic once again in four sets.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been hit by various injuries this year but that has not stopped him from winning the Australian Open and the French Open. After pulling out ahead of his Wimbledon semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios owing to an abdominal injury, the southpaw played just one match leading up to the US Open. That was at the Cincinnati Masters where he lost in the round of 32 against eventual champion Borna Coric.
So far at the US Open, Nadal has won both his matches in four sets like his next opponent Richard Gasquet. Nadal has lost the first set in both his encounters. He began his campaign with a comeback victory against 21-year-old Australian Rinky Hijikata who put in a great effort. In the second round, Nadal defeated Italian veteran Fabio Fognini after looking out of sorts in the first set.
Rafael Nadal has an impeccable 17-0 record against Richard Gasquet.
Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in straight sets.
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