Federer US Open clash may never happen, admits Nadal

Swiss crashes out after defeat in straight sets to Robredo.

NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal believes that facing Roger Federer at the US Open might have to remain just wishful thinking after the worrying decline of the Swiss superstar continued in New York.

Federer, the winner of a record 17 Grand Slam titles, fell to Spanish 19th-seed Tommy Robredo 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round, his earliest exit from the US Open in 10 years.

It also doomed hopes for a potential quarter-final match with 12-time major winner Nadal in what would have been the first meeting of the pair’s 31-match rivalry at Flushing Meadows.

“To be honest, it’s going to be great if we were able to play a final,” said Nadal, who reached the quarter-finals with a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.  “It is because I felt that in our rivalry for so many years we were able to play in all the best scenarios, stadiums, around the world.”

The two men have played four finals at the French Open, three at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.

“We played the rest of the finals in the Grand Slams. So probably the rivalry deserves to have that match here in the US Open on the biggest court in the world,” added Nadal.

“But it didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean it cannot happen in the future.  We’ll see. But it is true that we are getting older, so the chances are less today than five years ago.”

Nadal is only 27 but Federer has already turned 32.

Aisam-Rojer progress to round four

Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer will face fourth-seeds Leander Paes and  Radek Stepanek in the men’s doubles quarter-final today.

Aisam and Rojer beat the unseeded pair of Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu and India’s Divij Sharan 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-3 in the third-round match.

Earlier, Aisam had stated that he aims to  open his grand slam account.

“I’m trying hard and I keep knocking on the door,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “The opportunities are coming my way and I’m trying my best to win a grand slam this year. I will not give up until I win a big one.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.