Article

  • Nadal faces Querrey in U.S. Open fourth round

    9/1/08 2:20 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Rafael Nadal will thrill the Labor Day crowd in New York by taking on Sam Querrey for a spot in the quarterfinals of the season's final Grand Slam. The battle in Arthur Ashe stadium follows Fish and Monfils.

    It will be the No. 1 seed's fourth straight match against an unseeded opponent when Rafael Nadal meets Sam Querrey in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Monday afternoon. That doesn't mean it will be overly easy for Nadal. He and Querrey squared off back in 2006 at the Masters Series Cincinnati when Querrey was a relative unknown, and Querrey took the first set before falling in three. That is the only previous encounter between the two men.

    Querrey, of course, has come a long way since then and is enjoying his break-through Grand Slam right now. He rolled to a crushing upset of Tomas Berdych in round one, survived Nicolas Devilder in four sets in the second, then ousted 6'10'' Ivo Karlovic in straight sets on Saturday. This consistency is not something the American has displayed recently. He has been wildly up-and-down in 2008, winning the Las Vegas title and reaching the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo and the semifinals in both Delray Beach and Indianapolis. However, he won just one of his most recent four matches prior to the U.S. Open.

    Nadal, on the other hand, has been a model of consistency in 2008; not to mention a whole lot more. The Spaniard came into this event as the four-time French Open champion, the current Wimbledon champion, the Olympic gold medalist, and the No. 1 player in the world, He clearly has a bullseye on his back, but so far Nadal has not been playing like that concerns him one bit. The top seed fought off Bjorn Phau in three tough sets--including two tiebreakers--in his opener, then dispatched both Ryler DeHeart and Viktor Troicki in three routine sets.

    Straight sets is the expected result once again on Labor Day, but Querrey definitely has the tools to be competitive. The 6'6'' up-and-comer owns one of the biggest serves on tour and it needs to be in full force against Nadal. Querrey also must come to net more often that he normally does because he cannot stay with Nadal for long from the baseline unless he just tees off every time he gets a look at a forehand. Querrey could serve his way into a tiebreaker or two, but Nadal in three is the pick.

    Querrey will be keen to face Nadal for a second time in his career.


    Nadal says Querrey has gained much experience since their first match in 2006.

Tell a friend »

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password: