World No.1 Rafael Nadal has set up an intriguing quarter-final showdown with Dominic Thiem after snuffing out a comeback attempt by Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-3 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 win at the US Open.
The top seed looked like he would cruise to an easy win on Sunday after pocketing the first two sets but the Georgian stepped up his game to take the third set.
The US Open champion would not be denied and fired his seventh ace on match point to end the three hour, 20-minute tussle.
“Two matches in the row that were very tough ones,” said Nadal, who had to battle back against Russian Karen Khachanov two days ago.
Nadal praised the 26-year-old Basilashvili, who will break into the top 30 for the first time when the new rankings are released after the tournament.
“He played fantastic. A lot of credit to him. He was playing great, hitting the ball very, very strong,” he said.
“I’m very happy to be through,” added Nadal after setting up a rematch of June’s French Open final, when he crushed Thiem in straight sets to win his 17th major.
The Austrian booked his own place by eliminating last year’s US open runner-up Kevin Anderson in a 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-2) victory.
Thiem neutralised 203cm Anderson’s blistering serve by standing far beyond the baseline and he chased down everything the South African could throw at him.
He played a near flawless match, dropping just four points on his first serve and firing 42 winners.
“One of my best matches ever,” Thiem said of his dazzling performance in an on-court interview, calling his quarter-final berth “a dream coming true”.
Thiem told reporters that his positioning on the court inside the newly-built Louis Armstrong Stadium was critical.
“The court, I think, made a big difference. It’s a huge court. I could go very far back like I do on clay usually. So there were some good advantages for me today,” Thiem said.
“I also played really safe from the baseline, which is also a big part of the performance today. But against him, still, the most important is to put as many balls back into play as possible.”
The South African had won all six previous hardcourt meetings against Thiem but he struggled to get his legs moving against his younger opponent on Sunday.
Having survived two five-set thrillers to reach the fourth round, Wimbledon runner-up Anderson ran out of steam and bowed out tamely.
He was hoping to earn a rematch with Nadal, who beat him last year in the final at Flushing Meadows.
“It’s disappointing. I wanted to be here right till the end and put myself in contention of winning my first major. It wasn’t meant to be,” Anderson told reporters.
“It was definitely Dom’s day today. He played a great match.”