Nadal though while Ferrer falls

12 April 2012

Rafael Nadal moved into the fourth round at the US Open after a push in the second set opened up a closely contested match, lifting him to a 6-4 6-3 6-0 victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

However, fellow Spaniard David Ferrer did not fare as well, falling to Japan's Kei Nishikori, who battled through a tough five-set match to post a 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-5 victory.

Spaniard Nadal will now face American Sam Querrey in the fourth round. Querrey had made some noise for the Americans with a 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 upset win over number 14 Ivo Karlovic.

James Blake, however, was not as lucky. He fell at the hands of his close friend, Mardy Fish, who recorded a 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7/4). Blake was looking to advance to the fourth round of the US Open for the fourth straight year, but Fish had other plans, advancing past the third round in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

For his second straight round, sixth seed Andy Murray had his hands full. After needing a fourth set to edge French lefthander Michael Llodra on Thursday, Murray battled past Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-7 (5/7) 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-1 6-3.

Gael Monfils of France had a much more impressive showing, using his superior athleticism to top seventh seed David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3 6-4 6-2. The 21-year-old fired 12 aces and took advantage of 41 unforced errors by Nalbandian to set up a meeting with Fish.

In another match that went the full five sets, Stanislas Wawrinka came back from two sets down to top Italy's Flavio Cipolla 5-7 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 6-0 6-4.

Wawrinka, who claimed gold at the Beijing Olympics in doubles with Roger Federer, will meet Murray in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, 16th seed Gilles Simon of France was upended by number 17 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 6-4 6-7 (4/7) 6-1 3-6 6-3. Del Potro is bidding to win his fifth straight tournament.

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