Nadal wins US Open thriller against Khachanov

Defending champion Rafael Nadal showed all his fighting qualities to hold off Russia’s Karen Khachanov in four thrilling sets at the US Open.

The Spaniard, looking for his fourth title at Flushing Meadows, came through 5-7 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) in four hours and 23 minutes – the longest match Nadal has played in New York.

Khachanov served for a two-set lead before Nadal, who required attention to his knee at the end of the first set, turned the match around and moved ahead after a stunning 39-shot rally in the third set tiebreak.

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Nadal had difficulty from the start defending against the 1.98m Russian’s power game.

He lost the first set and came under serious threat of losing the second, but evened the score after a pause in play to close the roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium because of light rain.

A champion always finds a way…

A massive test but @RafaelNadal overcomes Khachanov 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 to reach R4!https://t.co/A9rhp5wBjr#USOpen pic.twitter.com/GD8bWPfRS3

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2018

The top seed and defending champion needed a tiebreaker to win the third and fourth sets. In the last of the two, he pulled away early to seal the win.

“I am very happy to be through in a very tough situation,” Nadal said on court.

“There were some tough moments during the match, but he played aggressive. There are things to work on for the next round, but the good thing is I have a chance to improve.”

He goes on to face Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in the fourth round.

At the same time over on Louis Armstrong Stadium, last year’s runner-up Kevin Anderson won a similarly exciting tussle against Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 4-6 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-4.

Anderson will next play ninth seed Dominic Thiem, who beat Taylor Fritz 3-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-4.

Third seed Juan Martin del Potro remains a potential semifinal opponent for Nadal following a 7-5 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Fernando Verdasco in the night session – the Argentine next faces Borna Coric, a 6-3 7-5 6-2 winner against Daniil Medvedev.

John Isner will face Milos Raonic in a battle of the big-servers after both men made progress on Friday.

American Isner saw off a dogged display from Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, winning 7-6(8) 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5, while Canada’s Raonic enjoyed an impressive 7-6(6) 6-4 6-3 win over former champion Stan Wawrinka.