Ruthless Nadal hands Gasquet mugging to reach fourth round
Rafa Nadal handed old foe Richard Gasquet a Flushing Meadows mugging on Saturday walloping the Frenchman 6-0 6-1 7-5 to ease into the U.S. Open fourth round.
Rafa Nadal handed old foe Richard Gasquet a Flushing Meadows mugging on Saturday walloping the Frenchman 6-0 6-1 7-5 to ease into the US Open fourth round. Losing to Nadal is nothing new for Gasquet who is now 0-18 against the Spaniard but seldom over the years has the Frenchman absorbed such a severe beating.
He is the night. 🦇 pic.twitter.com/BPtzVT7ond
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2022
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Nadal is always a favourite in New York but such was the second seed’s dominance that even the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd tried to lift Gasquet’s spirit as he fell behind 6-0 3-0. When Gasquet finally held serve in the 10th game the crowd gave a mighty roar as the 36-year-old French veteran raised his arms into the air in triumph.
The #USOpen men's singles Round of 16 is set:
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2022
Medvedev vs 🇦🇺 Kyrgios
🇪🇸 Carreno Busta vs Khachanov
🇪🇸 Davidovich Fokina vs 🇮🇹 Berrettini
🇫🇷 Moutet vs 🇳🇴 Ruud
Ivashka vs 🇮🇹 Sinner
🇭🇷 Cilic vs 🇪🇸 Alcaraz
🇬🇧 Norrie vs Rublev
🇺🇸 Tiafoe vs 🇪🇸 Nadal
Tiafoe next
The beating, however, quickly resumed with Nadal sweeping the next five games to take the second set and a 2-0 lead in the third. At that point Nadal took his foot off the gas and when Gasquet broke the 22-times Grand Slam winner to level the third set at 2-2 it earned him a standing ovation. It took a few games for Nadal to get back in gear but the outcome was never in doubt, the Spaniard collecting his seventh break of the match to go up 6-5 then coolly holding serve to clinch a convincing win. Up next for Nadal is American hope Frances Tiafoe who advanced with a 7-6(7) 6-4 6-4 win over Argentine 14th seed Diego Schwartzman.