US Open: Nadal sets up Tiafoe clash

Ruthless Nadal hands Gasquet Open lesson to set up fourth-round meeting with American hope Frances Tiafoe
NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal ticked a couple of boxes in the third round of the US Open. His nose, courtesy the freak accident earlier in the tournament, is swollen, but it was none the worse for the ride. The four-time champion's form is in ascendant motion, the 36-year-old endorsed it with his 18th successive win over Richard Gasquet.
Gasquet's game doesn't match-up well with the No. 2 seed's guile even on a good day, and let's just say Saturday wasn't the best of nights for the Frenchman. Nadal had 35 winners, 17 of which came off that formidable forehand side. He unleashed a barrage of heavily spun groundstrokes, forcing Gasquet to meet the ball somewhere in the stratosphere, which was particularly brutal on his single-handed backhand. Tie that up to Nadal's determination to wind down the clock every time, between points and serves, even as Gasquet barely sat down at the changeover, and it all adds up to why the world No. 91 was able to convert just one of seven break point opportunities.
Nadal wrapped up the first nine games before the Frenchman got on the scoreboard and though Gasquet broke back in the third set, the match was more or less done and dusted. Nadal sealed a 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 win.
Next up for the 22-time major champion is home hope Frances Tiafoe, who put out 14th seed Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4. Tiafoe is determined to carry that moment into the round of 16. Nadal leads Tiafoe, who is ten years his junior, 2-0 in head-to-head clashes, but as the American pointed out both those matches were played three years ago. "I believe I can beat him. I'm going to go after him," the 26-year-old said. "I'm definitely a different player from 2019."
"It is his intensity, from the first point to the last," Tiafoe noted of Nadal, "You can't really have any dips. He takes advantage of it. Once he gets a hold of his forehand, it's tough to get him out of that pattern. I'm just going to have to be really aggressive."
Nadal typically is looking for more of that potent potion. "I need to increase the level of my intensity on the court. I hope to be able to make that happen," he said. "In some ways, (playing Tiafoe) is a challenge for me. I enjoy that. He's a player who plays with a lot of passion. He's very quick. He can play aggressively."
Nadal, who struggled with an abdominal injury that forced him out of his Wimbledon semifinal, came into the US Open without a match win, having gone down to Borna Coric in the first round in Cincinnati. "Here, I have played a little bit worse than in Australia, but the results in the Slams have been incredible, so that helps," said Nadal.