2010 U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal through to quarter-finals
Ranked no. 1 in the World and seeded no. 1 at the tournament, Spain’s Rafael Nadal annihilated fellow-countryman, Feliciano Lopez in the fourth round match played between the two.
The match that lasted precisely two hours and eight minutes came to a close as Nadal clinched the deciding third set. The sportsman thrashed Lopez three sets in a row to make a place for himself in the quarter-finals of the 2010 U.S. Open.
As the match kicked off, Rafa instantly exercised his authority by taking the first set six games to three. The professional further proceeded to take the second set six games to four. Lopez proved incapable of levelling himself with his opponent in terms of performance.
Sadly enough, Feliciano was made to face defeat at the hands of Nadal as he lost the third set four games to six. Rafael ecstatically clenched his fist and flung his wristbands at the crowd upon winning his fourth round match.
Prior to the fourth round, Nadal defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon in the third round of the championship. Shortly before the match, Simon stated that it’d be great if he was to win, but on the other hand, he’s prepared to lose to Rafa.
Nadal thrashed Simon, three sets in a row to make it through to the next round. The Frenchman was defeated six games to four in the first set, six games to four in the following set and six games to two in the deciding third set of the match.
Alongside, Feliciano Lopez was made to face Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky in his third round match. As the match started off, Lopez took the first set six games to three. Proceeding to the second set, Feliciano was up four games right before Stakhovsky’s reign was ended. The Ukrainian sportsman was forced to retire during the second set due to a bad back.
In the year 2009, Nadal made it through to the U.S. Open Men’s singles semi-finals where he went head to head with defending champion, Juan Martin Del Potro. The Argentinean defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2 to eliminate him from the tournament.
The semi-finals are the farthest Nadal has gotten at the U.S. Open in his career so far. However, the professional is proving more than able at this year’s championship. The initial stages seem to have been a piece of cake for Rafa, do we have a potential King of concrete? – Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
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