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Nadal slowly coming into his own
NEW YORK: The ‘tweener lob Rafael Nadal somehow conjured up to get to match point was so spectacular, he was asked whether he’d ever before hit a shot quite like
NEW YORK: The ‘tweener lob Rafael Nadal somehow conjured up to get to match point was so spectacular, he was asked whether he’d ever before hit a shot quite like that.
“Well, actually, yes,” Nadal said, nodding and laughing. “Not many times, but I remember one.”
This one certainly was memorable, providing quite a flourish at the end of a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 47th-ranked Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia on Friday night that put Nadal back in the US Open’s fourth round for the first time since winning the 2013 title.
This season, he lost in the first round of the Australian Open. Then he pulled out of the French Open before his third-round match because of a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, an injury that forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon altogether and miss about 2½ months on tour in all.
“You need to be patient. You need to take your time, recover, work hard,” Nadal said. “That’s what I did. That’s all.”
STILL IN PAIN
Nadal said the wrist, which helps generate all of that heavy topspin on his uppercut of a lefty forehand, still feels pain — but noted that it’s “something that is not limiting my game now. That’s the most important thing.”
But the shot everyone will talk about was not a forehand. Closing in on victory, Nadal raced toward the baseline to retrieve a lob hit by Kuznetsov. With his back to the net, Nadal lifted himself off the ground and flicked a lob of his own through his legs. His racket then slipped out of his hand, but he leaned over to grab it and eventually took that point.
Afterward, Nadal screamed, punched the air and spread his arms wide, pumping his fists.
“You cannot practice that kind of shot,” he said.
Next comes a match-up Sunday against 24th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France.
Novak Djokovic reached the last 16 in just 32 minutes on Friday when Mikhail Youzhny retired injured. Defending men’s champion Djokovic was 4-2 ahead in the first set when Russian 34-year-old Youzhny called it quits suffering from a left hamstring injury.
The outcome completed a bizarre first week for world number one Djokovic.
After labouring over four sets to beat Jerzy Janowicz on Monday, he was handed a walkover into the third round when Czech opponent Jiri Vesely withdrew from their second round clash with an arm injury.
“I have never had this happen before in my Grand Slam career, getting a walkover and the next match lasting just half an hour,” said Djokovic.
Women’s eighth seed Madison Keys pulling off an epic comeback to beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
The 21-year-old rallied from 1-5 down in the final set to defeat Osaka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3).
In stark contrast, German second seed and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber closed out the night session with a 6-1, 6-1 win in just 53 minutes against American 17-year-old CiCi Bellis.
MIXED DAY FOR INDIANS
India’s Rohan Bopanna lost in the men’s doubles competition but advanced in the mixed doubles while Sania Mirza progressed with her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig.
Bopanna and Denmark’s Frederik Nielsen were defeated by American Brian Baker and Kiwi Marcus Daniell 2-6 6-7 (5-7). Bopanna later combined with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski to beat US pair of Noah Rubin and Jamie Loeb 7-5 6-4. Sania and Dodig, who won the US Open title in 2014, began their campaign with a 6-4 6-4 win over US pair of Donald Young and Taylor Townsend.
