Nadal, Murray reach 4th round of U.S. Open

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain and Andy Murray of Britain were third-round winners Saturday at the men's section of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Nadal defeated Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 on Day 6. The five-time major champion advanced in 1 hour, 55 minutes with the help of six service breaks.

Nadal has won his last 17 Grand Slam matches, including titles at Wimbledon and the French Open, where he beat former top-ranked star Roger Federer in both finals. He also earned an Olympic gold medal in Beijing this month.

The 22-year-old Nadal has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals (2006) in the U.S. Open. He's trying to become only the fourth man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win three straight major events. Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Federer (twice) are the only ones to do it so far.

Up next for Nadal will be American Sam Querrey, who reached the fourth round by upsetting 14th-seeded 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

Murray beat Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (5-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3 Saturday.