Serena matches her easiest win over Venus in U.S. Open rout
Rafael Nadal survives test from Khachanov, del Potro reaches 4th round
Serena Williams equaled her most-lopsided victory ever in 30 professional meetings with sister Venus, beating her 6-1, 6-2 on Friday night in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Watch Serena put the finishing touches on her 3rd-round win:
Serena shook off an early ankle injury to win seven straight games and seize control in perhaps her most dominant performance since giving birth to her daughter a year ago Saturday.
The sisters' earliest meeting in a Grand Slam tournament in 20 years was over early, with Venus unable to do anything to blunt Serena's power, even after the crowd tried desperately to get behind her early in the second set.
"It's not easy," Serena said, despite how easy it looked in a match that lasted just 1 hour, 12 minutes.
"She's my best friend. She means the world to me. Every time she loses, I feel like I do. It's not very easy, but it's a tournament. We know there's more to life than just playing each other and playing tennis."
They hadn't played this early in a Grand Slam since Venus won in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open in their first meeting as pros, and only once over the next two decades had either won so decisively. Serena won by the same score in a semifinal victory in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2013.
Serena delivers vintage performance
Serena, the No. 17 seed, will next face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who knocked out top-ranked Simona Halep in the first round.
Serena, who turns 37 next month, leads the series 18-12 with her sister, 11-5 in Grand Slam tournaments. But this one wasn't expected to be so easy, not with Serena still working her way back into form after returning to the tour in the spring.
But this was the type of tennis that has brought her to 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the ability to pound balls all over the court and chase down the rare shots that looked like they might get past her.
"This was my best match since I returned," he said. "I worked for it. I worked really hard these last three or four months. That's life, you have to keep working hard no matter ups or downs you have. That's what I've been doing."
Delpo through to 4th round
Third-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro is through to the fourth round at the U.S. Open.
The 2009 champion beat No. 31 seed Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the final match of the night.
Next up for del Potro, the No. 3 seed, is No. 20 seed Borna Coric.
Click on the video player below to watch Delpo advance:
Nadal survives test from Khachanov
Rafael Nadal's knee was bothering him. His decade-younger, barrel-chested U.S. Open foe was bashing the ball.
The defending champion was two points away from falling into a two-set hole. Then he was two points away from dropping the third set. And then he was one point from losing the fourth set and being pushed to a fifth.
As all of those key moments presented themselves, he managed to come through. The No. 1-ranked Nadal overcame a shaky start Friday and used his customary relentless style to wear down No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov physically and mentally, eventually getting to the fourth round with an entertaining and back-and-forth 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) victory that took 4 hours, 23 minutes.
Watch Nadal's match point:
"I escaped a very tough situation," Nadal said, "so it's a great thing."
Brief break helps Nadal
After Nadal ceded the opening set, he had a trainer put tape under his right knee, which has caused problems off-and-on for the Spaniard over the years. Nadal later got more wrapping there during a 10-minute break at 5-all in the second set while the retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was shut because of light rain.
Just prior to the delay, Khachanov had served for that set at 5-4, and three times was two points away from taking it. But he couldn't get closer than that. Nadal broke for 5-all and, after the delay, broke again to even it at a set apiece, aided by two double-faults from Khachanov. When Nadal earned that set with a passing shot that drew an errant volley, he crouched and yelled. Folks sitting in his guest box rose. A chunk of the crowd gave a standing ovation. Khachanov swatted a ball in disgust.
Nadal said the brief break was just what he needed.
"I just trying to calm myself for a moment. He was playing well," Nadal said. "But for me, the most important thing is have the right tempo when I am playing. For some moments I felt things were going too fast in my mind. I didn't take the time to do the right steps, to go to the ball with the right decision, with the right determination, with the right timing."
The end of the third set was similar: Khachanov twice was two points from owning it and couldn't get across the line, helping Nadal with three double-faults in the tiebreaker. And while Nadal kept letting set points slip away, four in all, he made No. 5 count, and how. It was a quintessential Nadal point, too: a 40-stroke exchange — yes, 40! — that featured so much defence from Nadal until Khachanov netted a backhand, then tossed his racket on the sideline.
"I needed that set, of course," Nadal said.