Nadal Wins in Straight Sets
FLUSHING, New York—Rafael Nadal downed David Nalbandian 7–6, 6–1, 7–5 in a tough match that was a lot closer than the final score.
Nadal had to come back from down 4–2 in the first set before putting it away in the tiebreaker. Nalbandian limped through the second set, seeming to almost give the Spaniard the set 6–1. Nalbandian drew the third set to another tie break, but the defending Champion would not give up a set, taking the match in straight sets.
Nadal said after the match, “I happy about almost everything today. I think my movements worked pretty well, and the forehand worked really well, and the backhand, too.”
Nadal kept his unforced errors to 18, compared with 60 by Naldbandian. The errors proved too costly for the Argentinean.
There was a scary moment during Nadal’s press conference after his match. As he was speaking, he stopped, slumping down in his chair in obvious pain. The press was rushed out as medical attention was brought to him. He was brought back in the room later, saying he was fine, but had experienced a painful cramp in his legs. He made no further comments in English.
Andy Roddick came on after his match, explaining that it is normal for players to experience cramping after matches.
“People cramp after matches when you’re cold. It’s unfortunate it happened in front of all of you (media). Every single player in there has had that happen before. As long as it doesn’t happen in a match, you are fine.”
Nadal will face Gilles Muller for his next match.
Roddick Advances
Roddick used net play to gain the victory, something that is not his usual for the former US Open Champion. He came to the net 32 times, winning 63%. Roddick’s 21 aces and only 16 unforced errors proved too much for Bennateau.
Roddick will face his toughest challenge in David Ferrer. “Obviously he is tough. A lot of what I do feeds into what he does well also. I don’t think there are a lot of secrets between us. Most of the time we played, whoever executed better has won.”
Donald Young Makes His First Round of 16
The 22-year-old American, who was once thought to be “the next best thing” for American tennis, enjoyed the victory, pumping his fist and soaking in the roaring crowd.
After his match he said, “Without them (crowd), I wouldn't have won at all today. I don't think I would have had a chance because I was kind of getting a little fatigued. The energy was kind of going away. They definitely pushed me through.”
Young reached the 4th round of a Grand Slam for the first time, finally experiencing the success he had been promised at an earlier age. He credits his new-found success to changing his off-season routine, including working out at the USTA center out in Carson, California.
Young will face the winner of the Andy Murray-Feliciano Lopez match. Young faced Murray earlier in the season and beat him, earning him the biggest win of his career so far.
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