US Open Day 6: Nadal, Thiem, Delpo advance

After another early struggle, Rafael Nadal got on top to seal a place in the fourth round of the US Open.

Nadal dropped the first set to Leonardo Mayer and faced two break points early in the second set before recovering to post a 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1 6-4 win.

The match – the third and final of Saturday’s day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium – concluded at 8.41pm.

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Just as he did against Taro Daniel in round two, Nadal fell behind against a surging opponent and struggled with his own rhythm and timing.

But after surviving break points in the fourth game of the second set, he began to slowly gain the momentum.

A bundle of break points came and went in a mammoth fifth game, which ended when Mayer finally held for a 3-2 lead. But on his 14th break point, Nadal finally broke in the seventh game, and from there ran away with it.

Out of this world for most…

Standard for @RafaelNadal…#USOpen pic.twitter.com/rtOKwXtY7h

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2017

The only blip from that point came when he failed to serve out the match at 5-2 in the fourth; on his second opportunity, he didn’t falter.

“Very very happy, no? Have been a tough situation for a while, a set and I have break points … is true I don’t know how many break points I had before I convert the first one (laughter),” he said.

“But I was there mentally, I fighted (sic) a lot until that moment and then I think I played better.”

Nadal next faces Alexandr Dolgopolov, who continued his unlikely run through the draw – amid controversy – with a 6-1 6-0 6-4 thrashing of Viktor Troicki.

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Roger Federer followed Nadal on to Ashe after 9.30pm – far later than he probably anticipated.

And he played as if he wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible, swatting aside Feliciano Lopez in straight sets in the first match of the night session.

The third seed’s 6-3 6-3 7-5 win was a far cry from his five-set tussles of the first two rounds; it could have been even quicker had Federer not dropped serve in the fifth game of the third set after leading 3-1.

“It’s always a great feeling to play out here (on Ashe). Usually I play very well,” Federer said.

“I struggled the first couple of rounds but I think that’s something to do also with my opponents. They came out and played very well.

“(Tonight) I played a very clean match. I couldn’t be happier to get a match in straight sets against Feliciano who’s been such a touch competitor over the years, it’s a great feeling.”

Thiem v Delpo in fourth round

Earlier on Saturday, Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro helped ensure the besieged tournament – nobody remaining in the bottom half as ever reached a Grand Slam final – has some big names alive going into the second week.

Thiem, seeded sixth, moved through to the fourth round with a 7-5 6-3 6-4 win over 30th seed Adrian Mannarino, repeating his 2016 feat at Flushing Meadows.

There he met del Potro, before retiring in the second set of that match due to injury.

He’ll meet the Argentine at the same stage of the tournament this year – hopefully healthier – after del Potro brushed aside 11th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-3 6-4.

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“Of course there is always room to improve, but it was really way better, and I really like the feeling that it’s getting better from match to match,” Thiem said. “It’s necessary to improve a lot for the next round.”

Del Potro, a US Open winner in 2009, has endured a lean season in 2017, just 18-11 before this event and forced to skip the Australian Open in January.

At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, he fell in the third and second rounds respectively, making his run in New York his best Slam result since he advanced to the quarters here 12 months ago.

“I think I played the best match of the tournament. I hit so well my forehand. I serve well during the whole match. I play very smart with my slice. I came to the net very often, tried to be aggressive all the time, and I think I play well,” del Potro assessed.

“He (Thiem) has everything to win the match. He’s having a great season already. He’s the favourite for the match.

“But I like to play him. I like to play him in this tournament. Hopefully I can do a good match.”

In other results, No.9 seed David Goffin got past an injured Gael Monfils, while Andrey Rublev, who stunned seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in his previous match, reached the fourth round win a four-set win over Damir Dzumhur.

No.33 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber ended the run of Australian John Millman and will in the last 16 take on Federer.