Rafael Nadal Wins Again at U.S. Open, Heads to Fourth Round

Rafael Nadal took one more step toward another U.S. Open title today. Nadal beat David Nalbandian 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 7-5 to win his third-round match.

According to ESPN, the next opponent for Nadal is 68th-ranked Giles Muller of Luxembourg. Muller defeated Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, hitting 23 aces in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Muller has to really step up his game if he wants to compete on the same court as Nadal. Muller reached the quarterfinals last time he played in the U.S. Open (2008).

The men's and women's defending champions have survived early-round play. Nadal is not only trying to repeat as champion but win his fourth singles title of the year. He lost in the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic and fell in the Australian Open quarterfinals to David Ferrer. Both of those matches weren't that close.

Nadal fared much better at the French Open, and it all came after he almost lost in the first round. John Isner took a two sets to one lead in the match before Nadal came back to win the fourth and fifth set. After that match, Nadal wouldn't lose another set until he took on Roger Federer in the final. In what has been classified as a pretty epic match, Nadal won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-1 to add another Grand Slam title to his resume.

Those watching the U.S. Open have to be hoping Nadal makes the final either way because every time he is in a big match it ends up being extremely entertaining. He still needs to take care of business in the early rounds though, because the competition just gets tougher after round four.