Rafael Nadal had to battle more than expected against Nikoloz Basilashvili to set up an intriguing quarter-final against Dominic Thiem at the US Open.
The King of Clay conceded just 1 game in his only match against Basilashvili at the French Open back in 2017, but obviously, the US Open is a completely different story.
The match
When Rafa grabbed a 6-3 3-1 lead, everything was pointing to another routine win for the Mallorcan. However, after clinching the first 2 sets, the Spaniard was stunned in the 3rd set at the breaker.
In the following set (the 4th), Nadal reaffirmed his dominance with an early break (1-0), but once again the Georgian refused to bow, and he broke back in the 6th game (3-3). When it started to seem that Rafa had to battle hard to win the match, the world no.1 broke Basilashvili again (4-3) before winning the contest 6-3 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-4.
Next vs. Thiem
Rafa will face Dominic Thiem in the quarters. The head to head is 7-3 for Nadal, and this is the first time they play on hard courts.
TO THE QUARTERS
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