World No. 1 Rafael Nadal booked a place in the Round of 16 of the US Open after beating lucky loser Leonardo Mayer, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Nadal lost the opening set in 63 minutes but recovered in the next three as he defeated Mayer in three hours and 15 minutes. Nadal hit 39 winners and claimed 51 of 75 rallies over four shots as he cruised to the fourth round. Mayer, for his part, was trying to reach the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the second time since Wimbledon in 2014.
Nadal will go up against Alexandr Dolgopolov, a 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 winner over Viktor Troicki in just one hour and 22 minutes.
Nadal prevailed in his lone match against Dolgopolov in 2017 in Brisbane. In 2011, Dolgopolov advanced to the fourth round of the US Open but lost to Novak Djokovic. “It's one of my best matches lately. I'm really happy that I'm healthy again,” Dolgopolov said after the win.
Juan Martin del Potro also advances
Juan Martin del Potro, seeded 24th in the tournament, reached the fourth round of the event with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 11 Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Del Potro tallied 14 aces, hit 38 winners to 32 unforced errors and converted five of his 13 break points en route to a spot in the fourth round, where he will go up against sixth seed Dominic Thiem, who defeated Adrian Mannarino, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Del Potro has a 2-0 edge over Thiem in their head-to-head showdown. Del Potro captured his lone major crown at the US Open in 2009 after beating Roger Federer. He also made it to the quarterfinal twice, losing to Djokovic in 2012 and to Stan Wawrinka in 2016. Thiem, for his part, aims to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the first time.
David Goffin, Andrey Rublev reach fourth round
David Goffin, seeded ninth in the tournament, reached the fourth round after No. 18 Gael Monfils retired due to injury while trailing, 7-5, 5-1. When asked about details of his injury, Monfils mentioned both knees, arm and back. Goffin will next face Russian Andrey Rublev, who defeated Damir Dzumhur, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in two hours and 46 minutes.
The 19-year-old Rublev hit 44 winners and broke Dzumhur nine times. Rublev will be making his first appearance in the second week of a major tournament in his five appearances in the main draw. Aside from Rublev, 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov also reached the second week of the tournament, making it the first time that multiple teenagers made it to the US Open fourth round since Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori in 2008.
