NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Rafael Nadal will come face-to-face with swashbuckling Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in a quarter-final contest at the U.S. Open today which is likely to turn into a “battle of the forehands.”
The Spaniard owns one of the most lethal forehands seen in tennis but Gonzalez has also been gifted with an equally thunderous delivery and has the ability to rattle the third seed — having won three of their nine meetings to date.
It is a danger Nadal is well aware of.
“He played unbelievable all match against (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga. Very good tennis, unbelievable forehands, so I know him very well,” said Nadal referring to Gonzalez’s fourth round victory.
“He knows me very well. I have to play aggressive. If he gets control of the point with his forehand, it’s almost impossible beat him. So I have to play aggressive, and make him uncomfortable in every shot.”
However, the biggest threat to Nadal’s hopes of taking a step closer to his first Flushing Meadows title could be the heavy storms forecast for Thursday evening.
After being blessed with 10 days of dry weather, the Open schedule could be thrown into disarray in the closing stages for the second year running. Last year the men’s final spilled over to the third Monday of the championships.
Before the Nadal-Gonzalez match can take centre stage in the night session, 20-year-olds, sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro and Croatian Marin Cilic, will be looking to reach the semis here for the first time when face off in the afternoon.
