Nadal falters late, falls to Pouille in US Open fourth round

Gael Monfils, of France, serves to Marcos Baghdatis, of Cyprus, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in NY.

The 24th-seeded Pouille, in stark contrast, has played three straight five-set matches – none more draining than his upset of Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki reached her fifth U.S. Open semifinal, and first at any Grand Slam tournament in two years, by beating an injured Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-0, 6-2 on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old recovered from 4-2 down in the deciding set before retaining his composure having given up a 6-3 lead in the tie-break, and believes he is physically and mentally stronger than ever.

His biggest move in the rankings came in May, when he jumped from 52nd to 31 after reaching the semi-finals of the Rome Masters as a qualifier.

Gael Monfils has reached the US Open semi-final after ending the impressive run of his compatriot Lucas Pouille.

Edmund, playing in a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time, barely got a look-in during the first two sets against the world number one and defending champion, who booked a last-eight meeting with ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2 victor over American Jack Sock. She won the Australian Open in January, then lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final in July.

After winning back-to-back five-setters in the second and third rounds at Flushing Meadows, he was ready to go the distance against Nadal. “I have the motivation to keep working”. It would be long.

“I felt I played a little awful, to be honest”, said Kvitova. “When I was younger, I used to watch all his matches on (Arthur Ashe Stadium) and now it’s me, so I wanted to take full pleasure and enjoy it”.

It’s a rare ruling in Grand Slam tennis, especially at a critical juncture, although there was, of course, the most famous foot fault of all on the very same court.

Djokovic also had his right arm worked on during his first-round victory on Day 1 of the tournament, but he got a chance to let that arm sit idle for a bit, benefiting from a walkover in the second round, then a retirement after only six games in the third.

Meanwhile, Nadal told media wing that “it was a close match and I would like to wish my opponent a best of luck for the upcoming matches”.

“The way they are putting attention on every shot, they’re doing all perfectly”.

His efforts have given him a good chance of qualifying as one of the top-eight players for the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London. After making it to the last eight in Wimbledon earlier this summer, Pouille climbed to 21st in the world.

Like Federer, Pouille has set up a training base in Dubai. I put myself in a position to have the victor and I had the mistake.

The physical improvements he’s felt have boosted his confidence. I fought right up to the last ball.