Nadal continues to roll, meets Youzhny in semis
Rafael Nadal is still on course to reach his first US Open final after defeating fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
The World No.1 overcame tough conditions to claim his 11th victory over his Davis Cup teammate and set up a semi-final match with Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Battling the wind on Arthur Ashe court, Nadal struggled, at first, to cope with the conditions – losing his serve for the first time in the tournament.
"I started very scared, when I was playing with the wind and against the wind, too. I was playing too aggressive, because I was scared,” Nadal said.
But those nerves soon settled down and the No.1 seed acclimatised to the conditions taking the first set 7-5. From then on Nadal never looked back making just three unforced errors in the second set and just two in the third.
"Right now, for me, it's a very, very nice feeling to be in [the] semi-finals for the third time in a row, for one of the most important tournaments in the world," Nadal said in an on-court interview. "For me, probably right now, the most important.”
Verdasco made it easy for Nadal, who was looking to win his 19th Grand Slam match in a row, making only 59 of 100 first serves and winning just 56 percent of his second serve points. "It was very difficult even to make the toss of the ball," Verdasco said.
Nadal is still on course to meet Roger Federer in the final on Sunday and although both players still face tough matches in the semis, Nadal admitted Federer is favourite for the title. "For sure, Roger is the favourite," said Nadal.
In the other match on Thursday night 12th-seeded Youzhny defeated Andy Murray’s conqueror Stanislas Wawrinka in a five-set thriller.
Despite hitting fewer winners, fewer aces and requiring the physio in the fifth set, the Russian came through 3-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in four hours. The telling stat of the match was the number of unforced errors hit by both men. Between them Youzhny and Wawrinka managed to hit 128 errors, with the Swiss No.2 hitting 71 of them. Both won 154 points each, but it was the Russian who finds himself in the semi-finals. "Maybe I was just a bit luckier than him," Youzhny said.
The last time Youzhny made it to a semi-final if a Grand Slam was back in 2006 at the US Open. That time Youzhny met Nadal in the quarter-finals and won, this time it will be a much tougher task.
"It's another time, and I'm, like, another player. I cannot say I am [a] better player now, but it's another time and other opponent, so everything can happen,” Youzhny said.
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