US Open 2013: Novak Djokovic survives scare to set up Rafael Nadal final

Novak Djokovic reacts during his men’s singles semi-final against Stanislas Wawrinka at the US Open on September 7, 2013 in New York City. (Getty Images)

New York, Sep 8 (IANS): Rafael Nadal set up a final date with Novak Djokovic as he breezed into the US Open title clash after beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.

Nadal broke in the very first game and Gasquet couldn’t find any chance to break back, losing the first set 6-4.

Gasquet finally accomplished his break in the second set, but it entered a tie-break, where Nadal dominated to take the set 7-6 (7-1).

Nadal raced to a 3-0 start in the third set, moving on to conclude the match 6-2.

“Win the second set I don’t say is done, but is a big advantage,” said Nadal about the match.

The winner of nine ATP titles will clash with Djokovic for the 37th time in their career.

“I prefer to play against the another one,” joked Nadal.

“It’s good for both of us, we are playing at very good level so the match becomes great because we play long rallies, we bring our game to the limit situations, and becomes a very difficult match for both of us.”

It was Nadal’s 11^th straight victory against Gasquet.

“I made the semi-finals, so sure for me it’s a big step,” said Gasquet. “Last time I did it was six years ago, very long for me.”

Earlier in the day, Djokovic survived a five-set battle to outclass Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday, reaching his fourth straight US Open final.

It wasn’t the longest match between the two players, they had played each other in the Australian Open and Djokovic also won in five sets. That match lasted 302 minutes, 53 minute longer than Saturday’s match.

“I think that is completely different match than the match we played in the Australian Open. In the Australian Open I had to play my best game to stay with him,” said Djokovic.

The first set was a surprising one, in which the ninth seed finished with three breaks to win 6-2.

Wawrinka took his good form into the second set, breaking the 26-year-old Serbian to lead 4-2 in the second set.

Djokovic refused to give up, winning the next three games to take the lead 5-4. Both players kept the serve until the tie-break, in which Wawrinka made a key double fault to lose 7-4.

The third set went smoothly in the first seven games, and Wawrinka managed to break afterwards, holding serve to take a 2-1 lead. Djokovic won the next set 6-3 however, taking the match into the decisive fifth set.

Wawrinka’s service game produced as many as 12 deuces. He saved five break points to hold his serve, giving himself a 2-1 lead. But he eventually ran out of steam at the end, as the Serb prevailed.

“Wawrinka was a better player for most of the better part of the match because he was aggressive and played better tennis,” said Djokovic about the game.

Djokovic will fight for his second Grand Slam title this season after winning the Australian Open in January. He has featured in the US Open final in last three years, but has only won the title in 2011.

“Playing four finals now in a row and five in total, I mean, it’s great,” said Djokovic. “Seven, eight years that I have been coming back here I have played at least semi-finals in every US Open. Fantastic.”