US Open 2018: Match preview of the semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro

The US Open 2018 has advanced to the final stages of the tournament. The first semi-final was decided on Wednesday morning at 2:00 AM local time when the World no. 1 Rafael Nadal survived a bagel in the first set to win an epic 5-setter against Dominic Thiem.

Earlier, Juan Martin del Potro defeated John Isner in the first quarter-final of the US Open 2018, in 4 sets, to reach his third semi-final at the Flushing Meadows. Del Potro will meet Rafael Nadal in the first of the men's semi-finals.

The Argentine looked in great touch as he battled past the American John Isner 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 in 3 hours 31 minutes. The world number 3 was never broken in the match and made just 14 unforced errors with 49 winners.

The 29-year-old admitted that it is a challenge to play in the scorching heat in New York. With this victory, Del Potro widens his head-to-head against Isner to 8-4. Del Potro lost in the semi-finals last year to Nadal 6-4, 0-6, 3-6, 2-6 and would aim to exact revenge this time round. He will be looking forward to reaching only the second Grand Slam final of his injury-prone career.

The World no.1 Rafael Nadal fought hard to win an epic five-set classic in the second quarter-final of the US Open against Dominic Theim. Nadal had to dig deep to win the 5-setter 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6(4)-7, 7-6(5) against the Austrian Dominic Thiem.

The match lasted for 4 hours 41 minutes, which turned out to be the longest match of this year's US Open. The 32-year-old struggled in the first set but came back strongly in the next two.

Thiem fought hard to win the fourth set. The fifth set was quite an equal one as both the players were rallying through the points but it was an experienced Nadal who won the crucial points and ended the dream run of the Austrian in the Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard will be looking forward to improving his head-to-head against Del Potro as he leads 11-5 in their 16 meetings. Nadal last defeated the Argentine in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon 2018 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The first semi-final of the US Open 2018 is expected to be an exhilarating match as Del Potro would be wishing to end his Grand Slam drought since 2009 while Rafael Nadal will try to reach the 25th Grand Slam final of his career and the second of the year. The two will open the 17th chapter of their meetings on Friday morning in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.