Impressive Nadal Sends Simon Home

© Getty ImagesThree down, four to go... Nadal is hoping to win his first US Open title.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal dealt Gilles Simon a sweet defeat on Sunday in New York as he beat the Frenchman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the US Open fourth round. This defeat will not carry the same weight as usual for Simon, though, as the 25 year old can now fly home to France to meet his newborn son, Timothée, who was born four weeks early on Thursday.

Prior to the match, Nadal jokingly offered to buy Simon a plane ticket home, and ensured his game improved yet another notch to make good on his offer of ending the Frenchman’s campaign. Nadal has impressed on serve throughout the tournament and is yet to be broken in 46 service games; he has saved nine break points, including one against Simon.

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Afterwards, Simon admitted to feeling a little distracted going into the match. "It's hard to focus for me the last three days. But I think I was playing good. The two first sets were nice. I had some problem with my return today. I missed a lot of returns. And then the third set, I have to say that I was already in the plane."

The 24-year-old Nadal is looking to cap an already-record-breaking season by becoming the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam. He is also looking to become the fourth man to win three successive Grand Slam titles, after winning his second Roland Garros (d. Soderling) and Wimbledon (d. Berdych) double at the start of the summer.

How do you rate Nadal’s chances?

"I think I am playing better, a little bit better, every day," assessed Nadal. "So today was a solid match, I think. The serve is still good, so that's a very important thing. From the baseline, I think my movements and my shots start improve, to be better every day.

“I am in fourth round. That's good news for me - without losing a set - but there is a long way to go. I am happy where I am, but it is only the fourth round. It’s very good news be improving during the tournament  So that's what I did, and I need to keep improving if I want to have chances.”

The Spaniard has never made it to the final at Flushing Meadows, but has reached the semi-finals in both of the past two years, losing to Andy Murray in 2008 and eventual champion Juan Martin del Potro last year.

For a place in the quarter-finals, Nadal will face fellow Spanish left-hander, Feliciano Lopez. Spain is guaranteed a semi-finalist in the top half of the draw, with the winner of the Nadal-Lopez match due to face either Fernando Verdasco or David Ferrer in the last eight.

“That is positive news for us,” said Nadal. “Especially is very positive because I think, for the ball and for the court, it is probably the most difficult tournament for us. So that is very important news for Spanish tennis.”