Defending champion Rafael Nadal dug deep to win the longest match of this year’s US Open in a classic five-set quarter-final against Dominic Thiem – which finished at 2:03 am local time.
World number one Nadal lost the opening set 6-0 after being outpowered by the Austrian ninth seed but he recovered to lead two sets to one before Thiem leveled in a tie-break.
Nadal edged a tense fifth-set tie-break to win in four hours.
When he was asked about how he was able to get through the tense moments, Nadal added: “Suffering is the right word. It was a great battle.”
He will play Argentine third seed Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 champion, in Friday’s semi-finals.
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