Rafael Nadal has reached the last 16 of the US Open after coming through a tough match against 22-year-old Karen Khachanov 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(7), 7-6(3) on Friday. There was little to seperate the two players during the match and Rafa was even bothered with his taped knee.
After the match Rafa said:
The roof is too high so I don’t think it affects [the match] a lot. A great opponent, I’m very happy to be through. I escaped some tough situations. Serving for the match at 5-4 I didn’t play a good game. There are things to work on but the good thing is I’m going to have the chance to improve it.
The world No. 1 will face Georgia’s world No. 37 Nikoloz Basilashvili, who beat Guido Pella, in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
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What can you say? IT’S RAFA…VAMOS!!! Against anyone else Karen Khachanov would have
probably won that MATCH…I like Karen, he is a player to watch. I had to go to work after the
first set and half, later on a break I pulled out my iphone to stream the last set TIEBREAK to watch our CHAMP BRING IT HOME….cant wait to get home to watch the entire match!!
Rafa Hope your well…keep on rollin’..
Luv and smiles
😍😘🥇🤗
VAMOS RAFA CHAMP! 🎾💪🏼😘🍀
Well played Rafa! You were brilliant against an amazing competitor. I’m so proud of you. You had me worried but felt that you would come out on top. I hope your knee will be ok. Good luck for next week.
Well done to our champion Rafa! He had his back against the wall but he fought and found a way through.
Great match, and a stern test passed superbly. Khachanov threw the kitchen sink at Rafa, and boy did Rafa withstand it! I still can’t figure out how Rafa won the second set. I mean, I saw it all, but it seemed everything was going against him:)
This is just what I needed, a great lesson in never giving up no matter what odds are stacked against you. Thank you, Rafa sensei!!
I just caught the end of Raonic vs Wawrinka… and WOW, Raonic seems to have upped his game big time! Moving veeery well on the court.
Goodnight and all that. Peace out Rafans~!
PS, Fan Love, wherever you are, I hope you’re keeping well.
Rafa ROARED like the lion he is, King of the Court!!! Such pure male emotion.. beautiful…and he does it so well. Inimitable.
RAFA IS INIMITABLE
Nail biter. Such a tight match. But never think Rafa can’t pull out a victory. Very happy for this win.
Fantastic victory. Unbelievable tenacity-great to see Rafael so pumped for the win. Stay healthy-we are there👊👍💪👏👑❤️
NADAL semble prenez le match pour des entraînements; force des frappes absentes, ICE inexistant,trop d’échanges sans se décider sur la maniére à finir la partie,un match décevant et inquiétant sur le devenir de ce GS us open , il semble que le coache n’a rien apporté de nouveau et sérieux pour le N1.
Peut-être il est blessé.
RAFA ROCKS
Hi Rafans,
As this was a day session, it was the first Rafa match I saw of the tournament from the UK wheeee! What a banger. Excellent tennis from both. Respect to KK. A bit of an emotional workout for us, however.
Negative though it sounds, when Rafa went to serve for the match at 5-4, I thought “hmm. I wonder.” I was not very surprised he lost that game. I’m glad he cleared up the mess afterwards – nothing seems to sharpen his game like a mission to get back – but it really would be so much easier on everyone, dear Rafa, if you just pinged a few aces so we could all go home to our ice baths.
KK had 22 aces to Rafa’s…0. That’s 22/4 = just over 5 free games!
So it was amazing to hear that KK first-served at 60% in his R1 and R2 matches, and didn’t get broken once. Against Rafa, he first-served at 82%, but was broken 5 times! What a credit to Rafa as an incredible return player.
Naturally the commentators were lauding the match as a classic before it had even ended. Such is the quality of play that a fight against Nadal requires. How many times have we heard a Rafa contest described as “the match of the tournament” or “an instant epic” or “one of the best [matches / sets / battles] I’ve ever seen”. Yes, guys! It’s RAFA. He’s an epic-a-tournament kinda guy 😉
All the best to Rafa and his knee, now, for a good deep rest and some good ol’ prawn pasta…
Well done for not looking away *too* much, Rafans XD
Have a good rest and enjoy that pasta Alex:)
Heh heh I meant pasta for Rafa, not me!
Gosh , I needed a drink after that and then bed !
Trying to access this site tonight failed me I am being asked to join the group but I am a member for a long time
Rafa has (as usual) given the tournament a great match. As did Karen Khachanov. Seriously well played, both. The match really deserved to go to five sets but I am, of course, glad it didn’t. I was close to turning it off several times, but I’m now very happy!
I hope Rafa’s knee isn’t bothering him too much, didn’t appear to be, but after a four hour match and after the adrenalin wears off I don’t know. I think he has two days off now?
I hope his knee is OK too. I had to leave the room several times as I couldn’t bear to watch it. I was yelling at the TV so much and it was making so nervous and stressed. Glad he got through and now I can go to bed.
Ooof, yes. There was some serious “stress management” our end, too. Not quite Wimbly Semi-Final level (that broke the stressometer), but it was hard to watch at times.
As Rafans, we are used to living on the edge! Lots of matches with Rafa are “off-road” adventures! But can you imagine how stressful it must be for Federer fans this year, seeing their man giving up matches from match points, and tightening up in phases he usually glides through? At least we’ve got the rally suspension in place; they’re coming off road in a Rolls!
Champions always find a way! Vamos Rafa! Hope your knees are okay.
Rafa IMPRESIONANTE!!!…k emocion…nos has hecho saltar del sillòn..aplaudir…la adrenalina a tope…ENHORABUENA!!! Noss alegramos mucho…SIEMPRE CONTIGO!!!
Great focus,great courage,virtuoso skills!
So happy for you Rafa,what an extraordinary match.
Congrats to Rafa in reaching the 4th round.
Recover and rest after this close match.
RAFA ROCKS
Congrats Rafa and Karen as well for such a wonderful match
Very well played match I watched it keep playing aggressive and won the next round, congratulation
What a match! Rafa fought back from a set and break down! So proud of him. Hopefully his knee is ok 😕 any news? Take rest champ and than all the best for the next round. Vamos Rafa <3
Exactly my sentiment, Rafa_1310. As if we needed another reminder, Rafa showed us again why he is such a great champion and the best competitor the sport has ever seen! That’s also why we love him so much! Let’s enjoy the hard-fought victory. Hope his knee is ok!