Rafa Nadal has handed old foe Richard Gasquet a Flushing Meadows mugging, 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 has the Frenchman absorbed such a beating.
Arriving at Flushing Meadows with just a single match since pulling out of Wimbledon semifinals with an abdominal injury, Nadal has raced to find form.
After two tough four-set wins over Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata in his opener and Italy's Fabio Fognini in the second round, Nadal says there were signs of progress against Gasquet.
But the 36-year-old acknowledges he will need much more improvement, if he is to challenge for a fifth US Open title, which would tie him with Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras for the most in the Open era.
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.
"My best match in the tournament, easy," Nadal said of the win. "An important improvement, but I need to keep going.
"I know this is the right moment to make an improvement, if I want to keep having chances to keep going on the tournament. Today was an improvement.
"I need another important improvement for the next day."
Meanwhile, women's world No.1 Iga Swiatek dug her way out of a second set hole to notch a 6-3 6-4 win over American Lauren Davis and reach the fourth round of the US Open for the second straight year.
The French Open champion came out sharp and fired an unreturnable serve out wide to capture the first set, before falling behind 4-1 in the second, as Davis raised her level.
Despite the deficit, the feisty Pole stubbornly refused to drop her first set of the tournament, winning a tense 16-shot rally to set up breakpoints at 4-4, which she converted, when Davis whacked a backhand into the net.
In the end, Swiatek's superior serving and relentless defence carried the day against Davis, who plays a similar, but less potent brand of tennis than Swiatek.
The 21-year-old top seed admits she was not at her best during the two-hour night match on Louis Armstrong Stadium, despite reeling off the match's final five games.
"I couldn't find my rhythm today," Swiatek said. "She played totally differently than any other player.
"She played very smart. I'm pretty happy at the end that I could put balls in.
"I'm trying to enjoy every match, even when it's not perfect. Just trying to go for it, trying to find solutions in every situation."
Reuters
