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2017 U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal cruises into semifinals following win

By The Sports Xchange
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after match point in his match against Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarter-finals at the 2017 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 6, 2017. Nadal defeated Rublev in straight sets to advance to the mens semi-finals. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 4 | Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after match point in his match against Andrey Rublev of Russia in the quarter-finals at the 2017 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 6, 2017. Nadal defeated Rublev in straight sets to advance to the mens semi-finals. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal breezed into the semifinals of the U.S. Open with a resounding 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over overmatched Russian teenager Andrey Rublev on Wednesday in New York.

The Spaniard dismissed the 19-year-old Rublev in one hour, 37 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a potential showdown with rival Roger Federer.

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Nadal will face five-time U.S. Open champion Federer for the first time in New York if the Swiss star defeats the 24th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in Wednesday night's other quarterfinals match. Del Potro won the U.S. Open in 2009.

The 31-year-old Nadal, who is a two-time winner in New York, got the early jump on the first-time major quarterfinalist Rublev, battering his young foe to claim the first two sets in a tidy 58 minutes.

"It was a good match," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "Andrey was playing in his first quarterfinal and he played with more mistakes than usual. It's an important victory for me, winning past two matches in straight sets is very good news for me.

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"I'm very, very happy to be in the semifinals again in New York. It's very important to me and I'm very excited to have this opportunity again."

Nada converted seven of the 18 break points he created and won 84 percent of points behind his first serve.

The 53rd-ranked Rublev, who admitted that Nadal was his idol, was the youngest U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Andy Roddick in 2001.

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