11 September,2009 10:43 AM IST | | AFP
Rafael Nadal shook off a nagging abdominal strain to seize the lead on Fernando Gonzalez, only to have his quest to win the US Open and complete a career Grand Slam put on hold by rain Thursday.
Showers stopped the six-time Grand Slam champion's quarter-final match with the Chilean 11th seed in a tension-packed moment, with Nadal leading 7-6 (7/4), 6-6 (3/2) and Gonzalez preparing to serve in cold and windy conditions.
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| Fernando Gonzalez |
Spanish third seed Nadal had taken a medical timeout after winning the first set to have a trainer poke at his stomach muscles, at times prompting a grimmace from the reigning Australian Open champion.
Nadal had grabbed his stomach area with his right hand after his foot slipped when he struck a running forehand during a point in the tie-breaker, appearing to aggravate a muscle strain suffered last month at Cincinnati.
"In the first set it was very, very bad," said Toni Nadal, Rafael's coach and uncle.
Nadal had missed more than two months with knee tendinitis before returning last month but showed no sign of knee trouble while his serves at times seemed to suffer with the abdominal distress.
Nadal had a chance to rest when rain halted the match for 76 minutes at 2-2 in the second set, but the showers were unrelenting when they returned and after waiting more than 90 minutes, officials postponed the resumption.
Both men held serve unbroken until the rain although each faced down tests as they played for a semi-final berth against Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who earlier beat Croatian 16th seed Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
Five-time defending champion Roger Federer, the Swiss World No 1 seeking to stretch his record total of Grand Slam titles to 16, will play Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final.
Security guards were near Nadal at all times in his first match since a male fan ran onto the court and kissed him after his fourth-round triumph at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nadal, who beat Gonzalez in last year's Beijing Olympic final, would match his best US Open run from last year by taking a sixth consecutive victory over Gonzalez in a rivalry he leads 6-3.
Nadal is trying to become just the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam, joining Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men to win each of the four major titles.
If the Spaniard does it this week, he will be, at 23, the second-youngest man to complete the career Slam. Budge did it at 22 at the 1938 French Open.
Nadal would also be only the second man to complete the career Slam at a US Open, the other being Australian Rod Laver in 1962.
Del Potro and Gonzalez are each vying to become the first South American to win the US Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
Gonzalez (29) would be the oldest US Open semi-finalist since Andre Agassi in 2005. The 2007 Australian Open runner-up had not reached the US Open final eight since his 2002 maiden Slam quarter-final appearance.
Nadal saved two break and set points in the 12th game of the first set to reach the tie-break, rescuing the only break chances either man saw in the set when Gonzalez netted a forehand and on his own forehand winner.
In the tie-break, Nadal raced ahead 4-0, Gonzalez struggled back within 5-4 and the Spanish left-hander took the deciding points on a drop volley winner and a wide forehand by Gonzalez, then took his medical break.
After the first rain break, Gonzalez saved three break points to level at 5-5, erasing two on service winners and catching some luck on the last.
Nadal had "Gonzo" on the defensive in the point but brisk breezes blew a stray piece of trash paper across the court and the point was halted. Gonzalez won the replay with a forehand smash.
