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Agence France-Presse

Rafael Nadal defeated close friend Richard Gasquet for the 18th time to reach the US Open fourth round on Saturday as world No 1 Iga Swiatek made the last 16 for a second successive year.
Four-time champion Nadal took his record over Gasquet to a perfect 18-0 with a 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 victory to stay on course for a 23rd Grand Slam title.
Nadal has now won 34 straight sets against Frenchman Gasquet, who he first played as a junior.
On Saturday, he was barely troubled, winning the first nine games of the contest before Gasquet got on the board.

Next up for the Australian and French Open champion is 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe for a place in the quarter-finals.
“He’s a great player, very charismatic, very fast,” said Nadal of the American.
Tiafoe made the last 16 for a third successive year by seeing off Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 6-4.
The 36-year-old Nadal showed no ill effects of the bloodied nose he suffered when he accidentally bounced his racket into his face in the second round.
“It’s a little bit bigger than usual but it’s OK,” he joked.
Carlos Alcaraz, widely-regarded as Nadal’s Grand Slam heir apparent, claimed a season-leading 47th win despite breaking one of his shoes.
The 19-year-old third seed defeated Jenson Brooksby of the United States 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on the back of 46 winners.
Alcaraz, a quarter-finalist in 2021, managed to break one of his tennis shoes as he slid to reach a ball mid-match.
“It’s the third time that I have done this. As you can see, I do a lot of sliding,” he said.
Alcaraz next faces 2014 champion Marin Cilic who fired 26 aces and 74 winners in total past Britain’s Dan Evans in a 7-6 (13-11), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 7-5 win.
British seventh seed Cameron Norrie made the fourth round for the first time with a comfortable 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 win over Danish teenager Holger Rune.
He next faces Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev who needed five match points to see off Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 7-6 (10-7).
World No 1 Swiatek downed unseeded Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-4.
Swiatek came back from 1-4 down in the second set to reel off five successive games against the American who called a medical time out in the first set to have her blood pressure taken.
The 21-year-old Pole will face Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier of Germany for a place in the last eight.
Swiatek has now won three matches in a row for the first time since capturing her second French Open in June.
“It’s not like I lost confidence or something. I still know anything can happen on these tournaments,” she said.
Petra Kvitova defeated ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza after saving two match points.
Kvitova came through 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10) and will take on Jessica Pegula of the United States for a quarter-final place.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova said she had drawn inspiration from Serena Williams when the American legend saved five match points before eventually being eliminated on Friday.
“I watched Serena and it was amazing how she was saving match points, so I tried to do the same today,” said two-time US Open quarter-finalist Kvitova, who next faces three-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka.
Muguruza’s defeat, her sixth in seven meetings against the Czech, left only four of the top 10 women’s seeds in the tournament.
Sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who made the semi-finals in 2021, brushed aside French qualifier Clara Burel, 6-0, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.
Pegula, the eighth seed, ended the run of Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-0.
Azarenka eased past Petra Martic 6-3, 6-0 to set up a last-16 clash with 2016 finalist Karolina Pliskova, who downed Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.


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US Open (tennis)

US Open: Rafael Nadal beats close friend yet again, and belated momentum for Iga Swiatek

Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Richard Gasquet at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Photo: dpa

Iga Swiatek hits a backhand during her victory over Lauren Davis on day six of the US Open. Photo: USA TODAY Sports

Nadal’s nose bloodied by own racquet at US Open in victory

Rafael Nadal sustained an injury to his nose on day four of the US Open. Photo: USA TODAY Sports

Nadal celebrates after defeating Fabio Fognini during their men’s singles second round match. Photo: AFP 

Nadal shakes hands with Fabio Fognini after defeating him during the second round of the US Open. Photo: AP

Pick up your own balls: Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre looks to change the game in Hong Kong

The Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Sai Kung. Photo: HKGTA

Pedro Pissarra was most recently the high-performance coach at Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. Photo: HKGTA

The tennis coaching team of the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Hong Kong.

Rafael Nadal celebrates with the French Open trophy at Roland ​Garros. Photo: HKGTA

Sport

Tennis

Spaniard’s head-to-head record against Richard Gasquet is now 18-0 after he cruises into 4th round
World No 1 Swiatek battles through as she wins 3 matches in a row for first time since lifting the French Open in June


Rafael Nadal maintains his hold over the Frenchman to cruise into 4th round, as world No 1 Iga Swiatek wins 3 matches in a row for first time since French Open.


Rafael Nadal

Yuan Yue

US Open: Rafael Nadal beats close friend yet again, and belated momentum for Iga Swiatek

Spaniard’s head-to-head record against Richard Gasquet is now 18-0 after he cruises into 4th round World No 1 Swiatek battles through as she wins 3 matches in a row for first time since lifting the French Open in June

Spaniard’s head-to-head record against Richard Gasquet is now 18-0 after he cruises into 4th round

World No 1 Swiatek battles through as she wins 3 matches in a row for first time since lifting the French Open in June