‘Red hot Rafa’ is on the verge of making it 19 wins out of 19 on the hard courts this year as he closes in on yet another quarterfinal place at a Grand Slam. Of course, the 2010 champion who is playing the first match in the evening session today will know whether he faces Roger Federer in that quarterfinal match or not as his Swiss counterpart plays the last match of the day session today. That however will not be on his mind as he faces a potentially tricky opponent in Philipp Kohlscreiber today. The German ousted home-favorite and dark horse John Isner in his last match, and can be quite a dangerous player on his day. Rafa though has been sublime over the last month. After his second consecutive early exit from Wimbledon, most feared whether he would participate at the Rogers Cup that took place in early August. And, participate he did. That tournament in Toronto perhaps kicked off a run that will only end with the title here at Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard is aiming to become the first man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to do the Canada, Cincinnati and US Open treble this year. Nadal has been outstanding this year, and especially on the hard courts. He has won three Masters Series events this year, with Indian Wells being the third, which he won back in March. While Nadal has so far had no trouble in dispatching his opponents, Kohlschreiber has had to face two tough matches. That would perhaps make his ‘impossible’ task of beating Nadal even more difficult. Head to Head: The German has only beaten the King of Clay once in his entire career, even though this is their eleventh meeting against each other.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 00:08:27 +0000
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