TENNIS Live

US Open - Quarter-finals - Men

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Nationality Player Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
SpainR Nadal3666-
United StatesM Fish6142-

Live Comments

  1. 2-6 - Nadal rushes ahead to DOUBLE MATCH POINT... Fish saves the forehand winner with a huge forehand winner whipped across court to keep his moment in the sun alive for a tiny bit longer. But Rafa confirms on his second as the American sends the forehand error long following the grinding rally. Nadal takes two hours and 40 minutes to grind out the 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory in the end and reach the US Open semi-finals for the first time. Thanks for following our LIVE coverage and join us later today for the rest of the men's quarter-finals.

  2. 2-5 - Fish tries to outlast Nadal in a long baseline rally, and wouldn't you know it, that technique fails as Rafa whips the inside-out forehand winner to get back to 30-30. He has 19 forehand winners tonight. Nadal goes onto get his BREAK POINT chance after the Fish error, and as we expected he extends the lead as his disheartened opponent sends the backhand error long. Nadal will now serve for the match.

  3. 2-4 - A huge first-serve down the T, sets up the easy cross-court forehand winner at the net, as Nadal gets his Ad back before holding after Fish sends the forehand approach long. This is usually where the likes of a Rafa Nadal closes the coffin on his already deceased opponent.

  4. 40-40 - An excessively rowdy member of the crowd infuriates Nadal, and is subsequently removed for his misdeeds. Fish responds by fighting back on Rafa's serve, taking the first point with a fine return. But Rafa claims the next three points with some typically brilliant tactical plays, before Fish battles back to DEUCE with some more fine returns of serve. The crowd is really backing their man now.

  5. 2-3 - Fish serves-and-smashes his way to a 40-0 lead, to keep this crowd still somewhat in the match. He is now 33-of-63 at the net, where he has gone again, and again, and again. Rafa responds with the blazing forehand up the line on the return of serve, but Hawk-Eye over-rules the line call as the ball was clearly out. With that, Fish holds to LOVE.

  6. 1-3 - Nadal relies on his own service winners and some errors from the American to hold to 30 and stretch his lead.

  7. 1-2 - Nadal hits an awkward serve-and-volley well wide as he is force to move to the edge of the court to return that, and Nadal has an early TRIPLE BREAK POINT.... The American has been rushing his own serve, perhaps to counteract the Spaniard's slow style of play. And Nadal confirms on his first chance as Fish sends the unforced backhand error well wide. The top seed leads this potentially decisive set by a BREAK of serve after winning eight straight points.

  8. 1-1 - Nadal holds his own comfortable service game with some more blazing passes, and Fish is clearly starting to lose faith, if it's not already gone entirely.

  9. 1-0 - Fish opens up the fourth set with the hold to love, as Nadal returned one of those huges serves right at Portuguese chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who quickly forgave Nadal and winked at the Spaniard.

  10. 4-6 - Nadal sets up DOUBLE SET POINT, on serve this time, with a leaping overhead smash at the net as Fish tries the lob, but to no avail. And this time Nadal confirms on his first chance with the service winner. Rafa is one set away from his first US Open semi-final.

  11. 4-5 - Fish relies on his first-serves and holds to DEUCE to force the Spaniard to serve out for this set.

  12. 40-40 - Nadal again beats Fish with the forehand pass, as the American's net tactics have gone to pot. SET POINT Nadal. Fish saves with a strong net approach..... DEUCE.

  13. 3-5 - Here Fishy-Fishy-Fishy. Nadal draws the American into the net with teh slice backhand and then drills a typically devastating forehand pass to move ahead 40-15 on his serve. And Rafa solidifies the BREAK of serve with the hold to 30 to move within one game of the two sets to one lead.

  14. 3-4 - Nadal books himself a BREAK POINT, and confirms with the gorgeous forehand pass up the line. That could be all she wrote ladies and gents'.

  15. 3-3 - Nadal again takes advantage of some Fish errors, forced and unforced, to hold comfortably. Fish might be playing to get to the tie-break, and hope that his first-serve will see him through there.

  16. 3-2 - Here Rafa-Rafa-Rafa.... Fish draws his rival in with a brilliant drop shot to set up the volley winner at the net and then wraps up the hold to LOVE with the service winner. The American is looking a bit more like the threat that he did during the first set. But will his rediscovered serving prowess be enough?

  17. 2-2 - Rafa again holds comfortably thanks to a few unforced errors from Fish.

  18. 2-1 - Fish deals with the pressure nicely there, holding to 15 comfortably with some typically big first-serves. The crowd still very much in the American's corner.

  19. 1-1 - Nadal also holds from 15-30 to 30 with his own pair of service winners. Another crucial game for Mardy Fish coming up, but I suppose you could say that about the rest of his service games in this match.

  20. 1-0 - At 15-30 down Fish fires an ace and then a serve-and-volley winner to spark a bit of life into this recently deflated Arthur Ashe crowd. And he relies on the first-serve to pull out the much needed hold to 30. Nadal was an amazing 95% on first-serve in that last set, losing just three points on serve.

  21. 1-6 - Nadal rushes ahead 40-0 and closes out the LOVE-Service game and the dominant 6-1 second set with a service winner. Unless Fish can produce something dramatic, I would be surprised if Nadal did not win this in four sets.

  22. 1-5 - Fish repeats one of his previous blunders, serving-and-backhand-volleying into the net to gift his rival another BREAK POINT, and this time the Mallorcan lefty confirms as Fish fires the unforced forehand error into the net. Rafa will serve for the second set to level this match at one set a piece.

  23. 40-40 - Fish hits his 12th ace to get his Ad back, but Nadal responds with an amazing lobbed backhand return of serve for the clean winner into the absolute far Deuce corner. DEUCE #4.

  24. 40-40 - Nadal does what he does best, grinding out the long baseline rally after wearing his rival down to book yet another BREAK POINT. But again Fish saves with the service winner, as confirmed by Hawk-Eye. DEUCE.

  25. 40-40 - An amazingly angled running forehand winner earns Nadal that BREAK POINT we were talking about. It's all about the topspin.... And Rafa would have confirmed with a stunning cross-court forehand that hit the line, as Hawk-Eye over-rules the out line call. But they'll have to replay the point..... And Nadal sends the backhand error into the net. Back to DEUCE.

  26. 1-4 - Nadal comes up with his first audible "Vamos!" after holding to 30 to stretch his lead. A BREAK in the next game would not be shocking now, nor would a four-set Nadal victory at this point.

  27. 1-3 - Fish holds the tense service game to DEUCE despite a few more errors at the net. He does keep this second set in play for the time being.

  28. 0-3 - Nadal has successfully started to lengthen nearly every point and he holds comfortably to 15. Fish has got to be careful or he might find himself caught in a "tennis match."

  29. 0-2 - Much to the chagrin of the home fans, Rafael Nadal breaks with the blazing backhand pass on the return of serve as Fish is caught going to the serve-and-volley well once too many times. The Spaniard leaps into the air pumping his fist in delight, and he already appears back in command of not only this set, but this match as well.

  30. 0-1 - Nadal opens up the second set with an imposing LOVE-Service game. Maybe I overstated things a little bit when I said he was in "real trouble." Perhaps "a little trouble" would have been a fairer diagnosis, and perhaps "no trouble at all" would have been fairer still.

  31. 6-3 - Fish opens up this critical service game with a smart serve-and-volley winner..... And another serve-and-volley play results in the backhand smash!! Great attacking tennis..... And Fish books TRIPLE SET POINT with another service winner. And he closes out the LOVE-Service game and the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes in style by hammering a forehand winner across court and right on the left tramline. What a first set from Mardy Fish, as world number one, Wimbledon champion, French Open champion, and Olympic champion Rafael Nadal is in real trouble and perhaps feeling the effects of a long season.

  32. 5-3 - Nadal hits a typically brilliant forehand pass from the back of the court to hold to 30 and force Mardy Fish to serve out for this opening set.

  33. 5-2 - Fish comes up with some more big first serves to hold another nervous game and wrap up the game with his eighth ace. Nadal will serve to stay in the opening set. Rafa did drop the one set to Sam Querrey before going onto win, it should be noted.

  34. 40-40 - Fish comes back from 0-30 down and gets his Advantage back with another great serve-and-volley play that drives Nadal off of the court and sets up the volley winner at the net. It's just gone past midnight in NYC, as Nadal presses the American to DEUCE.

  35. 4-2 - Nadal keeps this set in touch with the service winner to hold to LOVE.

  36. 4-1 - A sensational net-play from the American earns Fish the dropshot winner and the hold to DEUCE. Rafael Nadal could be in some serious trouble here.

  37. 40-40 - Nadal books himself a pair of BREAK POINTS. Could this be the end of Fish's run? Maybe not, as the American saves with a service winner and his seventh ace. Back to DEUCE.

  38. 3-1 - Nadal finally gets on the scoreboard with a battling hold, coming back from 0-30 down to win four straight points and confirm the hold to 30 with a gorgeous pass attempt that forces Fish into the net.

  39. 3-0 - Mardy Fish fires aces three and four to hold to 15 and stretch his lead to 3-0. This start is the exact oppossite of what we were expecting in this match. It should be noted though, that Nadal has never been past the quarter-finals here and last year in a similarly late starting match in the fourth round he lost an epic battle to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

  40. 2-0 - Mardy Fish slams an overhead smash to BREAK Nadal on his first chance! Some thumping forehands set that up, and the American leads the world number one at the start of this match.....

  41. 1-0 - Fish relies on some typically huge first-serves to bail him out of an early jam and earn him the hold to DEUCE. The winner of this will of course face Andy Murray in the semi-finals.

  42. 40-40 - Mardy Fish pulls out the big guns, firing a big ace out wide to save an early BREAK POINT and work his way back to DEUCE.

  43. 0-0 - Fish, who came into today with 63 aces for the tournament, serves first tonight.

  44. 04:25 - It's 11:25 PM local time in New York City, and the Arthur Ashe crowd is still pretty full as world number one Rafael Nadal is set to take on American home hopeful Mardy Fish in just a matter of moments.

Mardy Fish

Nationality USA
Date of Birth 09/12/1981
Height 1.87 m
Weight 81 kg

Rafael Nadal

Nationality ESP
Date of Birth 03/06/1986
Height 1.85 m
Weight 85 kg

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