| Rafael Nadal in the pre-quarters, Iga as a star

New York: Spain’s former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will face the US. Open tennis has reached the pre-quarters of the Grand Slam. Nadal defeated France’s Richard Gasquet in the third round of singles. Score: 6-0, 6-1, 7-5. The match lasted two hours and 17 minutes.

Nadal went on to win all 18 matches against Gasquet. Nadal’s 22nd Grand Slam win this year. Nadal showed incredible performance in the first and second sets and took the lead 6-0, 6-1.

The Frenchman struggled in the third set, but Nadal won the set 7-5 and advanced to the fourth round. Nadal broke his opponent’s serve seven times in the match and gave up the break once. Nadal’s 30th win in night matches at Arthur Ashe. Nadal’s next opponent is US 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe defeated Argentina’s Diego Schwarzman. Score: 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-4.

Spain’s teenage star Carlos Alcaraz also reached the pre-quarters. Alcarez defeated Jenson Brooksby of the US. Score: 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Alcarez will face veteran player Marin Cilic of Croatia in the pre-quarters. Cilic, the 2014 champion, defeated Britain’s Dan Evans. Score: 7-6 (13/11), 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 7-5.

In women’s singles, world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland reached the pre-quarters. Iga defeated Cedilla star Lorraine Davis. Score: 6-3, 6-4. Iga hit six aces and broke his opponent three times. Iga’s next opponent is unseeded German Jules Niemeyer. Sabalanka gave a warning to her opponent against the French star Clara Burel. At the same time, Olympic gold medalist and 13th seed Balinta Benacic of Switzerland came back and defeated her after dropping the first set. 22nd seed Czech Karolina Pliskova also reached the fourth round. Score: 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Petra Kvitova beat ninth seed Garbina Muguruza to advance. Score: 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (12/10). Kvitova’s next opponent is Jessica Pegula of the US. Sixth seed Ariana Sabalanka advanced by defeating French player Clara Burrell. Aryana won in straight sets. Score: 6-0, 6-2. The match lasted for an hour.