Overview
Spanish Number two seed Rafael Nadal faces countryman Tommy Robredo in the quarterfinals of this year's US Open. The match takes place in the Arthur Ashe stadium in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Nadal, the stand-out player on hard courts, goes into the game as a heavy favorite but will be weary of Roberdo causing an upset, as he did against Roger Federer in the last round. Nadal is undefeated on hard courts in 2013, winning the Cincinnati and Montreal Masters in the process.
Fourth Round
Nadal beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in the last round. The first set of that match was the first to be dropped by Nadal in the whole tournament thus far. In particular, Nadal's serve has been exceptional. Despite losing a set, his serve has not been broken in the entire tournament.
"My serve is working just amazing," Nadal said after the game. "I think I didn't lose the serve because I played good points from the baseline. Four matches without losing the serve is great. I don't want to lie you, [I'm] happy for that."
Nadal and most tennis fans were expecting a quarterfinal tie against Roger Federer, who played Tommy Robredo in the fourth round. Robredo managed to pull-off an upset of the tournament so far by beating the Swiss grand-slam champion 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
To put the upset into perspective, Roberdo has lost all ten of his previous meetings with Federer, winning a total of three sets in those games. He was able to halt the record in the 11th meeting. The Spaniard spoke of how great a moment beating Federer was.
"I wasn't thinking that I was going to win," he said. "I just was going into the court trying to give my best and we'll see, no?"
"To beat him in a huge stadium like the US Open and in a Grand Slam, a match of five sets, it's like a dream," he added.
Head to Head
Much like against Federer, Robredo has an abysmal record against Nadal. In their six meetings to date, Roberdo has lost every single one. Furthermore, Robredo has only ever won one set against Nadal. The last time they had a face-off was in the Paris Masters tournament in November 2009. Nadal won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Where to Watch
The match will begin right after the second women's quarterfinal, at approximately 6 am IST (Thursday, September 5). Live coverage is available on Ten Sports.
