US Open 2022: ‘My best match in the tournament’ – Nadal warming up for title push after Gasquet rout

Prior
to
the
US
Open,
Nadal
had
only
played
once
since
withdrawing
from
the
Wimbledon
semi-final
against
Nick
Kyrgios
in
early
July,
losing
to
Borna
Coric
in
Cincinnati.

The
second
seed
got
past
Rinky
Hijikata
and
Fabio
Fognini
in
four
sets
in
the
first
two
rounds
at
Flushing
Meadows
before
Saturday’s
6-0
6-1
7-5
win
over
French
veteran
Richard
Gasquet
in
two
hours
and
17
minutes.

“My
best
match
in
the
tournament,”
Nadal
told
reporters.
“Easy
to
say
that
because
the
other
day
was
tough.

“But
important
improvement.
But
I
need
to
keep
going.
It’s
a
good
victory
for
me.
Straight
sets
for
the
first
time.
Third
set
had
been
a
challenge.
He
increased
the
level.

“I
went
through
some
difficult
moments.
That’s
something
that
is
good
that
I
went
through
that
and
saved
that
moments
with
a
positive
feelings.
Happy
to
be
in
the
fourth
round,
without
a
doubt.”

Fired
up
????@RafaelNadal
captures
his
30th
night
win
on
Ashe
after
taking
out
Gasquet
6-0,
6-1,
7-5.@usopen
|

#USOpen
pic.twitter.com/1uzudf2loR

—
ATP
Tour
(@atptour)

September
4,
2022

The
victory
over
Gasquet
meant
he
has
progressed
to
the
second
week
at
Flushing
Meadows
for
the
12th
time
in
his
career,
although
he
conceded
he
would
need
to
lift
his
level
to
take
out
the
title,
starting
with
Monday’s
fourth-round
match
with
22nd
seed
Frances
Tiafoe.

Nadal
is
gunning
for
his
third
major
title
this
calendar
year
in
New
York,
having
triumphed
at
the
Australian
Open
and
French
Open.

The
36-year-old’s
Australian
Open
success
in
February
came
after
minimal
preparation
due
to
a
foot
injury,
similar
to
his
US
Open
lead-up
due
to
the
abdominal
issue.

“I
think
I
played
better
in
Australia
than
here
going
to
the
second
week,”
Nadal
said.
“But
I
have
zero
background
in
terms
of
victories
and
all
this
stuff.

“Here
I
played
little
bit
worse
than
in
Australia,
without
a
doubt.
But
the
story
of
the
year
and
the
results
on
the
slams
have
been
incredible,
so
that
helps.

“I
don’t
know
the
balance,
what’s
better
or
worse.
But
all
these
victories
help
to
be
a
little
bit
more
confident.
It’s
a
moment
to
increase,
to
making
a
step
forward.”

“Second
week
against
a
great
player
like
Frances,
I
need
to
be
ready
to
play
and
to
raise
my
level.
I
hope
to
be
able
to
make
that
happen.

“I
know
is
the
right
moment
to
make
an
improvement
if
I
want
to
keep
having
chances
to
keep
going
on
the
tournament.”

Rafa
Nadal
is
four
wins
away
from
his
third
Grand
Slam
of
2022.

—
US
Open
Tennis
(@usopen)

September
4,
2022