Nadal Continues March Towards US Open Final

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal is one win away from reaching his first US Open final.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal stayed on track for a highly anticipated showdown with No. 2 Roger Federer after defeating fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday night at Flushing Meadows. Nadal, who is through to the US Open semi-finals for a third straight year, and five-time champion Federer have not dropped a set during the tournament. 

“It's very important for me to make the semi-finals again,” Nadal said in his post-match interview. “It's very nice to be in the semi-finals three times in a row at one of the most important tournaments of the world, probably for me right now the most important.”

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After 62 consecutive service holds and 13 break points saved, Nadal lost serve for the first time at the 2010 US Open as he netted a forehand in the third game. It turned out to be Verdasco’s only break point opportunity of the night, with Nadal quickly gaining control of the quarter-final match.

The top-seeded Nadal drew level at 4-all before closing out the opening set with another break, and needed just one break of serve in the second set to pad his lead.

Though World No. 8 Verdasco had rallied from two sets down for just the second time in Grand Slam action to defeat 10th-seeded countryman David Ferrer in the fourth round, he was unable to repeat the feat against Nadal. He dropped serve in the first game of the third set and was unable to make his way back from the deficit, as Nadal went on to close out the victory in two hours and 22 minutes.

The last time the two Spaniards had faced off on hard courts, they had battled for five hours and 14 minutes before Nadal clinched the five-set win and a place in the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal went on to win the title with victory over Federer.

The 24-year-old Nadal is looking to become the youngest player in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam, and also become the second player to win three straight majors in a single season since Rod Laver achieved the calendar year Grand Slam in 1969. The reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion has now won 19 straight matches at the majors.

He will take a 7-4 head-to-head record into his semi-final match against World No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who rallied past Swiss No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day. Nadal defeated Youzhny in straight sets during his run to the 2008 Wimbledon title, but lost to Youzhny four years ago in the US Open quarter-finals.