Nadal Plays Top Tennis Into Quarterfinals
Past top ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal will take on Fernando Gonzalez during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open later today.
After a selection of issues that he might not be physically recovered from a knee injury that left him sidelined for the majority of of the summer, Nadal has proven critics wrong with some exceptional play through the first four rounds of the tournament.
Nadal’s knee injury caused him to skip Wimbledon in July, a tournament that he won in ‘08. Unable to defend his title and having missed a few other events, Nadal lost his top world position to Roger Federer, who took advantage of Nadal’s absence with a victory at Wimbledon.
Nadal furthermore lost the world’s number two ranking to Andy Murray, although he recaptured it with his 4th round victory at the US Open two nights ago.
Nadal has appeared to be performing at close to his top level in this tournament as he thrashed Frenchman Gael Monflis in four |sets in the 4th round, looking as quick as ever while playing.
Gonzalez however beat another Frenchman, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the round of 16.
Gonzalez has beaten Nadal once before this, during the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2007, however looking at the way Nadal has played in the US Open, he ought to be incredibly confident about sealing a spot in the semifinals.
Nadal took the tennis world by storm last year when he won Wimbledon for the 1st time. Nadal backed up that performance by capturing the gold medal at the Olympics for singles. He proceeded to end the season as number one in the world for the 1st time in his lifetime.
The U.S. Open is the only defining title absent from Nadal’s gleaming list of accomplishments, and looking at his present form, it would take a courageous fan to gamble versus the Spaniard winning in Flushing this weekend.
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