Nadal survives stern test to reach quarters
Spaniard rallies in third set to beat Querrey, advance to face Fish
 Elise Amendola / AP Rafael Nadal celebrates during his four-set victory over Sam Querrey on Monday. Nadal won 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-3. |
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NEW YORK - Rafael Nadal withstood his first test at this U.S. Open, shifting into another gear to beat Sam Querrey 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-3 Monday and match his best result at the tournament that’s always bedeviled him.
Nadal owns four titles from the French Open and one from Wimbledon, but he’s never been as far as the U.S. Open semifinals. He’ll try to take care of that gap on his resume when he meets another unseeded American, Mardy Fish, in the quarterfinals.
Also advancing: No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who ended the run of Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the U.S. Open’s fourth round in the 40-year Open era. Del Potro won the contest between teenagers 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 for his 23rd consecutive victory.
Del Potro will face No. 6 Andy Murray, who beat 10th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Fish serve-and-volleyed his way past No. 32 Gael Monfils in straight sets. As for facing Nadal?
“I feel like a guy with my style of play is someone that he doesn’t want to see,” said Fish, who won the point of 45 of 69 trips to the net. “You’ve got to be able to finish points quickly. He’s going to last longer than anybody. He wants to keep the points as long as possible and run the guys down, kind of body-blow after body-blow.”
Nadal, who’s won 42 of his past 43 matches, had to work hard to wear down the 6-foot-6 Querrey. When Nadal served for a two-set lead, Querrey broke him at love. When Nadal was trying to put the kid away, serving with a 4-2 edge in the fourth set, Querrey compiled seven break points.
“The match was crazy like that, no?” Nadal said.
He saved each of those seven break points, though, and that pretty much was that.
“He had to earn it,” Querrey noted proudly. “I didn’t just give it to him.”
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