Rafael Nadal has continued his quest to claim a fourth US Open title; beating Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in straight sets.
The World number two saw off the 20th seed in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows on Thursday; in two hours and 47 minutes.
The scoreline though is slightly deceiving as this encounter wasn't exactly straightforward.
Nadal revealed after that he had stomach issues prior to taking to court and was suffering from dehydration.
"I became dehydrated which triggered cramping. First in hand, then forearm. Cramps continued to elbow and even into legs little bit.
"They started at the end of the second set. After salt tablet kicked in, I felt better but knew he needed to finish the match quickly."
The 18 time Grand Slam Champion had to crush 35 winners and break serve eight times to eventually find a way to win against an opponent who refused to back down.
"He's one of the best players of the world. When he's playing well, he's able to win against everybody. Tonight was for me [a] tough match. I'm very happy for the victory" Nadal said of 27-year-old Schwartzman after.
It's a bull market 🐂
Rafael Nadal is through to his 8th US Open semifinal after defeating Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.@RafaelNadal | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/QMkt75TaFK— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2019
Nadal will now face 24th seed Italian Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals after he came out on the right side of a five-set epic with Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
The other last-four encounter will see 5th seed Daniil Medvedev take on Grigor Dimitrov; after he knocked out Roger Federer at the quarter-final stage.
Nadal will be the overwhelming favourite heading into Friday's semi-final's and many feel this is now his tournament to lose with so many of the big hitters eliminated.
The three-time US Open Champion, who was last victorious in New York in 2017, is not buying into any hype though, praising his past and future opponents.
"I really believe that if you want to win tournaments, you need to go through tough opponents like I had against Marin, today against Diego.
"He was playing great the whole event and now [Matteo is] another player that is playing great," Nadal said. "Let's see. I need to play my best, and I think today I made a step forward."
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