Spain’s Rafael Nadal needed a second-set tiebreaker to squash any chance No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet held for an upset on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
Now in line for his second career U.S. Open title, the 27-year-old Nadal won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. He advanced to his 18th career Grand Slam final, tying Pete Sampras for third-most all-time.
Nadal advanced to the finals at Arthur Ashe, where he will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Serb survived an epic four-hour, five set gauntlet earlier in the day against No. 9 Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, winning 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Gasquet rebounded after losing the first set by handing Nadal his first break of the tournament, going up 2-1. Before then, Nadal held an incredible consecutive service streak of 73 in a row. However Gasquet’s triumph was short lived, as Nadal proved resilient and saved four of five break points in the first two sets.
Nadal improved his career record against Gasquet to 11-0 all-time, and his now 21-0 on hard court this year. Even with eyepopping numbers like those, according to the ATP, even if Nadal beats Djokovic in the finals, the Serb will still retain his No. 1 ranking.
Djokovic is responsible one of Nadal's three losses this year, which came in Monaco back in April. Otherwise, Nadal holds the all-time edge with a 21-15 record, including two victories this year. It is also Nadal's third U.S. Open final, and all have been against Djokovic. Nadal's lone victory came in 2010.
Below is the final two points of Nadal's win over Gasquets.
VIDEO Rafael Nadal Defeats Richard Gasquet U.S. Open Semifinal Highlights: Nadal Advances To Face Djokovic In Finals
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