Flushing Meadows, NY (My Sportsbook) - The rain finally stayed away at the U.S. Open then Rafael Nadal washed away Fernando Gonzalez in quick fashion to finish off a straight-set victory in the final men's quarterfinal.
The third-seeded Nadal entered Saturday with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-6 (3-2) edge in a match that began Thursday night and was not resumed on Friday due to steady rain. When play resumed, Gonzalez appeared out of sync and belted several unforced errors long in losing the last four points of the second-set tiebreak.
The third set was a disaster for the 11th-seeded Gonzalez, who hit forehands long, wide and into the net, eventually showing frustration outwardly and in his play. The final result was a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory for Nadal and a date against Juan Martin del Potro in one men's semifinal.
The former world No. 1 Nadal is the reigning Australian Open champion and needs the U.S. Open to complete a career Grand Slam. He missed two months of action this summer while battling knee injuries and has been plagued by an abdominal strain at this particular fortnight.
The other men's semi here, which was established on Wednesday, will pit top- ranked Roger Federer against fourth-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic. The reigning Wimbledon, French Open and five-time U.S. Open champion Federer beat Djokovic in the final here two years ago. The 15-time major titlist Federer, who currently holds three of the four major titles (U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open), topped Britain's Murray in last year's Monday title bout in New York.
The men's final, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon here, has been moved to Monday for a second year in a row.
The 2009 U.S. Open champ will pocket $1.6 million.
The men's doubles final was pushed back to Saturday, at which time, weather permitting, a third-seeded team of Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles will face a fourth-seeded tandem of Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes. The reigning French Open champions Dlouhy and Paes were last year's runners-up here to Americans Bob and Mike Bryan, whom they upset in the semifinals this week.
