Federer, Nadal can set up 1st US Open clash
For the sixth time, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are each a victory away from finally meeting at the US Open, the only Grand Slam tournament where the rivals have never played each other.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after match point against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on day eight of the US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.?[Photo/Agencies] |
Juan Martin del Potro prevented it once and can do it again. Federer plays del Potro in the men's quarterfinals, and top-seeded Nadal faces 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev.
Del Potro beat Nadal in the 2009 semifinals at Flushing Meadows, then ended Federer's five-year championship reign by upsetting him in the final. Federer will be the fresher player in their night matchup, having beaten Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets Monday, while the 24th-seeded del Potro was overcoming illness and a two-set deficit to rally past No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem in more than 3? hours.
In the women's quarterfinals, No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic faces No. 20 CoCo Vandeweghe of the US, and 15th-seeded Madison Keys of the U.S. meets 418th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, the first qualifier in the US Open women's quarterfinals since Barbara Gerken in 1981.
Agencies