Rafael Nadal continued his quest for a third Grand Slam title of 2022 with victory over Richard Gasquet to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
Spain’s Nadal, a four-time winner in New York, prevailed 6-0 6-1 7-5 in his 18th win over the Frenchman.
The 36-year-old won the Australian and French Opens earlier this year before injury saw him withdraw before his Wimbledon semi-final.
He will face American Frances Tiafoe for a place in the quarter-finals.
Earlier on Saturday, Nadal’s compatriot and world number four Carlos Alcaraz marched into the last 16 with an impressive straight-set victory over American hope Jenson Brooksby.
Alcaraz, who reached the quarter-finals on his Flushing Meadows debut in 2021, won 6-3 6-3 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Ninth seed Andrey Rublev came through a final-set tie-break against Denis Shapovalov to set up a fourth-round meeting with Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Rublev won 6-4 2-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-6 (10-7) in a four-hour epic, while Norrie earlier beat Danish teenager Holger Rune in straight sets.
