Nadal Leads Spanish Charge In New York

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal wins his 16th straight Grand Slam match on Friday.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal completed an impressive showing for the Spanish contingent on Friday at the US Open, becoming the ninth player from his country to reach the third round as he defeated Uzbekistani Denis Istomin 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5.

After cruising through the opening set in 34 minutes with two breaks of serves, Nadal clawed his way from down 1-5 in the second set tie-break to maintain the lead. Nadal came under pressure again in the third set, needing to fight off five break point chances, and then seized his first opportunity to break Istomin’s serve – also his first match point – clinching the victory as his opponent netted a return.

"[It] doesn't matter if is straight or not straight for me," said Nadal. "I don't think about winning this tournament now. So probably the pressure is going to be there any day if I am in the final. Believe me, I have less pressure here than when I play at Roland Garros. [It] is completely different."

The 24-year-old Nadal, a two-time semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows, is attempting to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam in the Open Era. He has now won 16 straight Grand Slam matches, following his triumphs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

"For me, [to] complete the Grand Slam at this moment is not a goal," admitted Nadal. "For me the goal is try to improve my level, to play well the next match, and we will see what happen next Sunday. For me [it] is not an obsession and is not a real goal."

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Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, Feliciano Lopez, Tommy Robredo and Daniel Gimeno-Traver won earlier in the day to join Thursday’s Spanish winners Albert Montanes and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round. Nadal’s quarter of the draw includes five of his countrymen, and ensures one Spaniard in the fourth round with 10th-seeded Ferrer and Gimeno-Traver facing off in their next match.

Four of the Spanish victories on Friday came at the expense of Frenchmen, who had the most players through to the second round: 12 from the 14 that began the week. Verdasco eased past Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; Lopez needed five sets to battle past Benoit Paire; Gimeno-Traver rallied past Jeremy Chardy in four; and Robredo advanced when Julien Benneteau retired in the second set tie-break with a wrist injury.

Nadal next meets former World No. 6 Gilles Simon, who fought past 29th-seeded German Philipp Petzschner 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Nadal has a 3-1 record against the Frenchman, including a straight-sets win in their last encounter in the 2009 Australian Open quarter-finals.

France has the second highest number of players remaining in the draw, with five players through to the third round.