Rafael Nadal came back from a set down to reach the
quarter-finals of the US Open with a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over Philipp
Kohlschreiber.
The Spaniard, who has still not lost a match on hard
courts this year, was given his biggest scare of the tournament so far but
managed to avoid following Roger Federer out of the draw.
Initially it looked like the much-anticipated
quarter-final between Federer and Nadal may instead pit Robredo against
Kohlschreiber when the German won the first set in a tie-break.
Nadal squandered a 0-40 lead in the third game of the
second set but finally secured the break to move 4-3 ahead and went on to level
the match.
The momentum was firmly with Nadal as he took just his
second of 17 break points to move 2-1 ahead in the third and from then on it
seemed just a case of how quickly the second seed would manage to wrap up
victory.
He completed the job in three hours and 12 minutes to
book a date with his Spanish compatriot Robredo.
Tough
"It was very tough conditions out there," Nadal
said on an evening when the humidity level was measured at 91 per cent.
"I sweated too much tonight. The opponent was great.
He had good chances, the first set he played great. I feel lucky to be through.
I fought a lot and it's amazing to have this victory in this full Arthur Ashe
Stadium."
Another Spaniard, David Ferrer, is also through to the
last eight, although the fourth seed was given a fright by Janko Tipsarevic.
Ferrer eventually claimed a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3)
victory, however Tipsarevic was left to rue missed opportunities as he served
for both the first and third sets.
Richard Gasquet came through a five-set epic to eventually
beat Milos Raonic 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-5.
Raonic hit 102 winners and 39 aces but the Canadian made
far too many unforced errors as Gasquet's patience paid off.
"I want to play better. I know I can. I showed it
the last few weeks, that there is that level. So today was pretty
frustrating."
Robredo's reward is a quarter-final showdown with
compatriot Rafael Nadal, who recovered from a slow start to beat Philipp
Kohlschreiber 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 6-3 6-1
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