US Open 2018: Three talking points from Day 9

Day 9 of the US Open 2018 will go down as one of the most memorable days in the final Major of the season. In a titanic late-night quarter-final tussle, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem kept everybody engrossed, producing a fight for the ages. It was tough to see Thiem go down 6-0, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-7(5) after the tenacity and stamina he displayed in the near five-hour epic.

Elsewhere, Serena Williams, Anastasija Sevastova and Juan Martin del Potro progressed into the semi-finals.

Here’s a look at the three major talking points of the day:

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#1 Nadal plays his longest US Open match ever

In a battle between two gladiators, bot of whom refused to give up, World No. 1 and defending champion Rafael Nadal emerged unscathed, but not before he and Dominic Thiem gave the world a delectable display of high-quality tennis. When Thiem finally broke down, with a botched smash on match point, the clock showed 2.04am in New York and the match duration was 4 hours 49 minutes, making it Nadal’s longest ever match at Flushing Meadows.

With the World No. 9 having never met Nadal in any surface other than the red dirt in 10 meetings, it was hard to envisage how the match would unfold. But when the match started, it was clear who wanted to be the aggressor.

The Austrian stormed out of the blocks, delivering a ‘bagel’ on his much-fancied rival, breaking him thrice. Thiem had been on the receiving end of a straight-sets defeat at the French Open final in June and he certainly did not want a repeat of that.

It was a surreal display from the youngster as he converted all three of his break points and conceded none to the 17-time Grand Slam champion. While Nadal took time to process the blow and figure out a way, it was obvious the lion-hearted fighter will not let Thiem walk away so easily.

And so, the fightback began, even though it looked tough even for a player of Nadal’s calibre. The southpaw went down a break in the third and fourth sets as Thiem simply never backed off from making winners off both the wings.

If anybody still had any doubts over the Roland Garros runner-up’s prowess on other surfaces, then he quashed them in style by winning a fourth set tie-break and setting up a deciding fifth set.

Even in the decider, his face was full of determination and a steely resolve. Nadal saw five break points come and go before the ultimate tie-break, where he finally won the longest match so far at the US Open 2018.

It was the second time Nadal played a 4 hours + match, with his third round win over Karen Khachanov ending at 4 hours 23 minutes. But what stood out was the undying spirit of two men, who left it all out on the court.

Thiem finished with a staggering 74 winners against 57 unforced errors to Nadal’s 55 winners against 49 unforced errors. While Thiem clearly made the big winners, Nadal just knew when to raise his level by just a solitary notch, that awarded him the win.

And that is something we have all witnessed countless times in the past, but watching Rafa managing to get out of jail even at the age of 32 still brings a lot of joy to any tennis aficionado.

#2 Serena inches closer to 24th as Stephens exits

Pliskova (left) and Serena shake hands after the match

While one legend hogged the limelight, another legend quietly made her way through to the semi-finals of the US Open in a comparatively undramatic fashion. Serena Williams, a six-time champion at the Flushing Meadows, is very much looking hungry to add her first title at the Big Apple since 2014.

In a rematch of the 2016 semi-finals, Williams avenged her defeat to the eighth seeded Karolina Pliskova with a 6-4, 6-3 win. The former World No. 1, now ranked 26th, made a slow start and quickly went down 2-4.

But, for the umpteenth time, she was able to flip a switch inside her and summon her fighting qualities again. She rode on that to win the next eight games while the big-serving Pliskova could only marvel at her opponent’s shots.

Serena slammed shut the match with 35 winners and 13 aces to earn her first top 10 win of the year. Having failed to cross the final hurdle at Wimbledon, Williams certainly looks all set to go one better in front of her home crowd.

While Serena did not have a lot of trouble, another former champion did not have the same fortunes. A year after being crowned the winner on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sloane Stephens’s title defence came to a grinding halt as she was knocked out 2-6, 3-6 by Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.

After staring at a set and a break down, the American did break back. However, her joy was short-lived as she failed to sustain the momentum and Sevastova promptly made use of her chances to make her maiden Slam semi-final.

Stephens later on revealed that she had been suffering from a viral infection since the start of the US Open.

#3 Third US Open semi-final for Del Potro

Del Potro continues to find success at the only Slam he has won so far

2009 champion and World No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro faced an inspired John Isner, a pro-American crowd and sweltering conditions but they were not strong enough to unsettle the Argentine. Del Potro emerged a 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 winner at the end of the 3-hours-31-minutes match that also saw the two men get a 10-minute reprieve from the heat after the third set.

The heat and humidity has been a problem for most of the players in New York for the past week. On Day 9, Del Potro showed that he was better prepared physically and mentally to tackle the conditions while the lanky Isner kept doubling over to catch breath.

Heat played a big role in the outcome of this match as Del Potro returned from the heat break, looking rejuvenated and far more motivated. It got reflected in his game when he grabbed a couple of breaks in the fourth set to seal the win.

One stat that was noteworthy was that the Argentine was never broken in this match, further establishing how smartly he served.

The reward that Del Potro got for the victory was a semi-final showdown with none other than Nadal. The two have been having frequent meetings at the Majors for the past one year, having locked horns thrice in the past four Slams.

A year after losing to Nadal in four sets in the semi-finals and also after stretching the Spaniard to five gruelling sets at Wimbledon quarter-finals this year, can Del Potro finally crack the Nadal code?