RAFA RAFAEL NADAL CRUISES PAST SEPPI AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, JOINED BY A TRIO OF FRENCHMEN INTO THE THIRD ROUND

Written by: Staff on 1st September 2016

RAFA RAFAEL NADAL CRUISES PAST SEPPI AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, JOINED BY A TRIO OF FRENCHMEN INTO THE THIRD ROUND

epa05517824 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after defeating Andreas Seppi of Italy on the third day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2016. The US Open runs through 11 September. EPA/JASON SZENES |

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal continued his unscathed trek through the U.S. Open when he took care of Andreas Seppi 6-0, 7-5, 6-1 during second-round action on Wednesday night. Nadal, who opened with a straight-set victory over Denis Istomin, needed only two hours and 17 minutes to extend his winning streaks at Seppi’s expense to six consecutive matches and 13 straight sets.

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to Andreas Seppi of Italy on the third day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2016. The US Open runs through 11 September. EPA/BRIAN HIRSCHFELD

Aside from a brief second-set wobble by Nadal, the match’s only real drama came when a sprinkle of rain forced the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof to close for the first time in history at 3-3 in the second set. According to a statement released by the USTA, play was suspended at 10:38 p.m. and resumed at 10:46 p.m. The total suspension of play was seven minutes and 22 seconds, during which the roof closed in five minutes and 35 seconds.

“I know I’m gonna be part of the history of this amazing event,” Nadal said when asked what he was thinking when he saw the roof closing. “Congrats (to the USTA) because the court looks fantastic. The real thing is for a good show, for the comfort of the fans, and for the fans in general (watching) on television, it’s an unbelievable improvement.”

Novak Djokovic is also into the last 32, and he made his way there despite not striking a single ball on Wednesday. The world No. 1 got a walkover from Jiri Vesely, who cited an arm injury in the aftermath of a grueling five-set defeat of Saketh Myneni on Monday.

Gael Monfils replaced Djokovic as part of the day session on Arthur Ashe and he treated the crowd to an entertaining 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win over qualifier Jan Satral. Knowing good and well that he was not seriously threatened, especially as the match progressed to its latter stages, the flamboyant Frenchman went into exhibition mode and displayed his well-documented arsenal of trick shots and general shenanigans.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France hits a return to James Duckworth of Australia on the third day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

A more business-like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got a tougher test from James Duckworth, but the world No. 11 passed it with flying colors in the form of a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph.

“Today was a good match,” Tsonga assured. “I played well. I don’t know what [Duckworth] will say, but I think it was a good level. I saw the statistics after the match, and I served well. I returned well. The only thing…I [converted] only four breaks on my 25 break points…. Today I’m pretty happy the way I played.”

Tsonga and Monfils are joined in the third round by fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who staged an improbable comeback from the brink of defeat to beat qualifier Marco Chiudinelli. Not only did the veteran Swiss lead two sets to love, but he also served for the match at 6-4, 6-3, 5-4. Pouille managed to break back, survived the third frame of play in a tiebreaker, and ended up prevailing 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-0.

Next up for Pouille on Friday is Roberto Bautista Agut, while Monfils will face Nicolas Almagro and Tsonga is set to go up against Kevin Anderson. Nadal will battle Andrey Kuznetsov for the third time this season.