Nadal through to face Thiem at US Open

World No.1 Rafael Nadal set up an intriguing quarter-final showdown with Dominic Thiem after snuffing out a comeback attempt by Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-3 6-3 6-7(8) 6-4 win at the US Open.

The top seed looked like he would cruise to an easy win on Sunday after pocketing the first two sets but the Georgian stepped up his game to take the third set.

The US Open champion would not be denied and fired his seventh ace on match point to end the three hour, 20-minute tussle.

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“Two matches in the row that were very tough ones,” said Nadal, who had to battle back against Russian Karen Khachanov two days ago.

Nadal praised the 26-year-old Basilashvili, who will break into the top 30 for the first time when the new rankings are released after the tournament.

“He played fantastic. A lot of credit to him. He was playing great, hitting the ball very, very strong,” he said.

It's safe to say that @ThiemDomi was ecstatic to reach the quarter-finals of a major outside of Roland Garros for the first time.

Who thinks the ???????? can beat top seed Rafael Nadal? #USOpen

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— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) September 2, 2018

“I’m very happy to be through,” added Nadal after setting up a rematch of June’s French Open final, when he crushed Thiem in straight sets to win his 17th major.

The Austrian booked his own place by eliminating last year’s US open runner-up Kevin Anderson in a 7-5 6-2 7-6(2) victory.

Thiem neutralised Anderson’s blistering serve by standing far behind the baseline and chasing down everything the South African could throw at him.

He played a near flawless match, dropping just four points on his first serve and firing 42 winners.

“One of my best matches ever,” Thiem said of his dazzling performance in an on-court interview, calling his quarter-final place “a dream coming true”.

Thiem told reporters that his positioning on the court inside the newly-built Louis Armstrong Stadium was critical.

“The court, I think, made a big difference. It’s a huge court. I could go very far back like I do on clay usually. So there were some good advantages for me today,” Thiem said.

“I also played really safe from the baseline, which is also a big part of the performance today. But against him, still, the most important is to put as many balls back into play as possible.”

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The South African had won all six previous hardcourt meetings against Thiem but he struggled to get his legs moving against his younger opponent on Sunday.

Having survived two five-set thrillers to reach the fourth round, Wimbledon runner-up Anderson ran out of steam and bowed out tamely.

He was hoping to earn a rematch with Nadal, who beat him last year in the final at Flushing Meadows.

“It’s disappointing. I wanted to be here right till the end and put myself in contention of winning my first major. It wasn’t meant to be,” said Anderson.

“It was definitely Dom’s day today. He played a great match.”

In a later match on Sunday, John Isner continued his best-ever Grand Slam season with a five-set victory over Milos Raonic.

Isner progressed to just his second US Open quarterfinal ever, and first since 2011, with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory.

The American has now won five of his six meetings with the Canadian, having also beaten him in the Wimbledon quarters en route to his first Grand Slam semifinal two months ago.

This was the first time they played a match that did not feature a tiebreak.

“The most important thing is I just stayed positive,” Isner said after the three-hour, eight-minute win. “The crowd just kept me in it. This atmosphere is like a jungle. It was amazing.”

Isner will next meet the winner of the Sunday night match between third seed Juan Martin del Potro and Croatian Borna Coric, the No.20 seed.