Rafael Nadal will continue his U.S. Open campaign when he goes up against Andrey Kuznetsov on Friday. Jo-Wilfied Tsonga and Kevin Anderson are also aiming for a fourth-round spot in the top half of the draw.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Andrey Kuznetsov
Already a two-time champion of the U.S. Open, Nadal made a little bit more history at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday night when he and Andreas Seppi played the first match under the closed roof in Arthur Ashe Stadium. As for the actual contest, itself, there was little intrigue. Nadal rolled over the Italian 6-0, 7-5, 6-1 and has surrendered only 13 total games through two rounds. Thus continues a stellar comeback from wrist problems for the fifth-ranked Spaniard, who had been sidelined since the second round of the French Open before finishing fourth at the Rio Olympics in men’s singles.
Up next for Nadal on Friday is a fourth career encounter with Kuznetsov, whom he has already defeated twice in 2016. The Russian was competitive in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 Doha quarterfinal loss, but he got blown out 6-3, 6-3 on the clay courts of Madrid. They also faced each other at Roland Garros last spring, when Nadal cruised 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. This Grand Slam should give Kuznetsov a better chance, as he is through to the third round for the second time in just three appearances thanks to wins over Thomaz Bellucci (four) and Albert Ramos-Vinolas (straight). The world No. 47 will likely trouble his opponent at times with his flat, early ball-striking, but if Nadal can minimize his forehand errors he should be able to finish the job in three sets.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games
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(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (23) Kevin Anderson
Tsonga and Anderson will be going head-to-head for only the third time in their careers on Friday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Tsonga’s way; 7-6(14), 7-6(5) on the clay courts of Rome in 2014 and 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 at last season’s Shanghai Masters. This year has been a decent one for the Frenchman, who owns a 26-13 record and is hovering just outside the top 10 at 11th in the rankings. Trying to make amends for early losses at the Olympics and Cincinnati Masters, Tsonga has advanced in New York with a straight-set beatdown of Guido Andreozzi and a four-set win over James Duckworth.
Anderson’s 2016 campaign has been plagued by shoulder and ankle injuries, to the extent that he was a mere 10-15 prior to this fortnight. But the 35th-ranked South African is starting to make progress in his comeback, as his hard-court summer has been highlighted by two decent showings at the Masters 1000 events (quarterfinals in Toronto, third round in Cincinnati). Anderson punched his ticket to the U.S. Open third round by taking care of Yoshihito Nishioka and Vasek Pospisil in straight sets. This is when the competition ratchets up, however, and–not counting retirements–the 23rd seed has not defeated anyone ranked as high as Tsonga since the Shanghai Masters last October (Kei Nishikori).
Pick: Tsonga in 4
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He’s gonna have to reduce those yips and up his serve if he is to win the title.
We gonna see no?
This is why we need Rafa playing! The crowd is loving it!
Rafa is in the fourth round!
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Rafa match stats:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrZIIAOWcAAVkge.jpg
Way to go, Rafa! What a shot! That’s the shot of the year!
Such an improved game from Rafa! Except for some lousy games in the second set, Rafa did great! A few more mistakes when serving for the match: guess Rafa was already picturing himself having a shower and lost concentration ? Forehand is back and doing damage to his opponents! Rafa moving extremely well! Backhand is a real force! I am so proud of Rafa!
Vamos!
ESPNTennis: Rafa Rising
https://twitter.com/ESPNTennis/status/771881920263294976
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Now that is something I could watch again and again! Rafa was so in tune with the crowd in that moment. It’s really magic when that happens. The crowd was feeling it and so was Rafa!
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Rafa’s MP & on-court interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX4KziJzFgU
Uncle Toni agrees that Rafa lost the confidence in the second set.
If he can fix this, he can do great things next week.
Pam Shriver interviewed Uncle Toni and he said that Rafa lost the rhythm on his serve in the second set.
He also talked about working on the forehand.
I disagree! How can Rafa lose confidence when he literally destroyed his opponent in the first set?! In the second set he experienced some problems with his serve while Kuznetsov became more and more agressive and attackef Rafa’s second serve with some great returns…Kuznetsov played better in the second, Rafa’s serve let him down but then he was able to hit some amazing shots to break Russian again and win the set!
We know when Rafa is low on confidence he loses sets/matches that he had under control! This time around Rafa played some of the best points in crucial moments! Nothing wrong with Rafa’s confidence!
¤¤ In his interview in Spanish, Rafa said that in the 2nd set the problem was his serve. He was too worried about finding the serve movement and this created doubts in rest of game.
Otherwise, he was playing well in the return and made enough breaks to won it. ¤¤ (Source: genny_ss )
ESPN just had Rafa visit them on set! Great interview! The crowd outside went crazy when Rafa walked on the set! So much cheering that it was hard to hear Rafa talking.
Great to see rafa so happy and enjoying the live from the crowd.
Of course they asked rafa about the tweener again.
NY loves you Rafa!
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NY loves you Rafa. That twiner was sick. Alone worth the ticket price. Going back home from Ashe. The ladies match is so boring…
Lucky you, Atul1985! You got to see this historic shot live! ?
Thought Rafa was overall impressive. No1 but Andy and Djokovic can beat him here
Atul,
Thanks for posting your thoughts. The crowd went crazy when Rafa hit that tweener! It must have been great to be there!
I think Rafa is getting better with every match. I do think he will be tested at some point. They did ask Rafa if he believes he is ready to beat Murray and Novak when he was on the ESPN set, he laughed and said that all he is thinking about is Pouille. He said he can’t think about Murray or Novak now. Smart Rafa!
One match at a time!
I think Rafa was a bit nervous during the match, that’s the norm with him whenever he arrived at an event that he failed in the past. He lost in R3 last year when he was up 2 sets to nil initially so this time he was nervous from 2nd set onwards. He didnt want to make a similar mistake.
I think as he progresses, he will improve his serve – he just has to stay calm and concentrates while serving even if that means taking a bit more time. He has to work harder these days as he no longer can dictate points at will unlike during his heydays.
Well done Rafa,getting better and better each day here at the USO.Vamos!
Thought he is great. He had a good raw to go deep into the tourney
Rafa’s interview on ESPN after win over Kuznetsov 9/2/16:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJxQkuGVloI
Vamoos rafa! One more match win and i can see him live? And so many things to be happy about. Rafas forehand was sick today. Especially the one game where he hit three forehand clean winners in a row. Even on mp, he went for the inside out forehand which is a great sign. Tonight only the serve left a lot to be desired. Will be interesting how he fares against tougher competition. Given his draw i am expecting at least a semi final result