Rafael Nadal is on to his 13th consecutive round of 16.
The three-time U.S. Open champion cruised past Hyeon Chung of South Korea 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, extending his streak of six straight sets without a loss in this year’s tournament.
It was the third meeting between Nadal and Chung, with Nadal coming out on top in the previous two.
“I didn’t face a break point,” Nadal said following the match. “That’s a positive thing. And the best thing is without playing great, playing a normal match, I was able to have a very comfortable score. So that means a lot of things, and positive ones.”
Nadal and Chung traded wins to start off the first set before the Spaniard capped off the fifth game with a rejuvenating ace to go up 3-2. His momentum carried him to win three of the next four to secure the opening set.
It was a tighter second set with Nadal only picking up back-to-back wins in the fifth and sixth games. Chung started off strong with four unanswered points in the first game but struggled to keep up with Nadal’s extensive baseline coverage.
“When you face players like Chung, they are very solid from the baseline and they like to hit the ball always,” Nadal said. “At the same point it is important to change a little bit the rhythm of the point, no? And the slice backhand is a way to change the dynamic of the point and to create some difficulties to him or try to play high balls, combine it with lower balls.”
The 33-year-old played his best tennis in the third and final set, sending his fastest serve of the day at 125 mph and committing just five unforced errors compared to Chung’s 17. He capitalized on two out of three break points and owned the short rally.
Chung didn’t have an easy path to the third round of the Open, competing in qualifiers before battling through two five-set matches against Ernesto Escobedo and Fernando Verdasco. On the other hand, Nadal has been lucky this tournament, breezing past John Millman in the first round before Thanasi Kokkinakis pulled out of their second-round match, giving him ample time to rest before Saturday.
But Nadal doesn’t see it that way, claiming he would have preferred to play the match against Kokkinakis.
“You never know what’s better or worse, no?” Nadal said about having more energy because of the walkover. “From here, the main thing, I am happy to be where I am. I’m in the fourth round, and that’s the main thing. Now is the moment to push, to make a step forward if I want to give me a chance to fight for the important things. That’s what I’m going to try. That’s all.
“But for me personally, in some way, I will prefer to play the match. In some way it’s true that you save energy. So you never know what’s the best thing.”
Nadal has now won 23 of his last 24 matches, with his most recent loss coming against Roger Federer in four sets at Wimbledon back in July.
