Nadal sets up Rublev quarterfinal

It might have taken a few rounds, but Rafael Nadal finally seems to have clicked in to top gear at the US Open. The world No.1 reached his first quarterfinal in four years with a comfortable 6-2 6-4 6-1 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.

“I feel that compared to other days, I feel more calm on court,” Nadal said after the match. “Is true that I was able to have the break earlier, but really I felt more comfortable from the beginning.”

Where Nadal has started slowly in his previous three matches, he came out of the blocks firing against Dolgopolov. An early break gave him a 3-1 lead, and from that point onwards it was a straight march to the first set.

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The second was much closer, with Dolgopolov matching Nadal through the early games. But as the set got tighter so did Dolgopolov, Nadal earning his break in the ninth game before serving it out 6-4.

From there onwards it was a straightforward for Nadal, the top seed wrapping up the win in 101 minutes.

“I know Dolgopolov arrived to this match playing great matches here, competing well and winning against good opponents,” Nadal continued. “I went on court with the feeling that could be a very tough match, but I don’t think if I lost or I had success in the past against him because the situations between years or since the beginning of the year till today change a lot, no?

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“His form, my form, everything can change. So I just try to be focused on what I have to do well.”

Nadal will face Russian teenager Andrey Rublev in the quarters. The 19 year-old became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals since 2001 (Michael Chang) with a 7-5 7-6(5) 6-3 win over an injured David Goffin.