Rafael Nadal, the current world No. 1, has made it into another US Open quarter-final. It is his sixth overall in New York and the first one since 2013 when he made it all the way to his second title at Flushing Meadows. The 31-year-old Spaniard seems to be locked on target as he got past Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. As the first seed at the 2017 Us Open, Nadal is one match away from a possible match with Roger Federer in what could be an electrifying semi-final.
But, there is one more bump on the road as he will play Andrey Rublev next.
The teenager from Russia had a breakthrough in this tournament, reaching the first Major quarterfinal of his career. A former Grand Slam champion at junior level, the 19-year-old Rublev is trying to make a name for himself and it seems that he chose New York as the starting point.
Nadal got past Dolgopolov while Rublev sailed past Goffin
The fact that Rafael Nadal topped Dolgopolov in straight sets, 6-2 6-4 6-1 is not a surprise even though the Ukrainian delivered some high-quality tennis throughout the first week. Currently ranked 64th in the world he stunned Tomas Berdych in the second round and Victor Troicki in the third. On the other side of the net, Nadal didn't play his best tennis in New York as he had struggled against some low-ranked players like Leandro Mayer or Taro Daniel.
The young blood from Russia, Andrey Rublev seems ready to take his career to a new level. Currently ranked 53rd in the world, he will break into the top 50 after the US Open. His run may not be over yet as he seems eager to achieve greatness in New York. En route to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, he stunned both Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin.
Furthermore, his overall tennis output has been extraordinary. What is even more impressive about this young Russian player is that he has only dropped one set throughout the whole tournament. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of facing Rafael Nadal at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal seeks confirmation for the world No. 1 seat
Surpassing Andy Murray in the rankings before the US Open came out of the tremendous clay court season Rafa Nadal has had. Knowing that he is not that comfortable on the North American outdoor hard courts, the ongoing event presents itself as the right place to impose solid domination. After two unexpected defeats in Montreal (against Denis Shapovalov) and Cincinnati (over Nick Kyrgios), the Spaniard seems eager to end this segment of the calendar with a special run at US Open.
