No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal rallied after dropping the first set again, moving into the fourth round with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Leonardo Mayer with the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium closed because of rain.
Just as in his win over Taro Daniel on Thursday, Nadal started slowly before finding the range on his punishing shots and dominated the next three sets.
The two-time U.S. Open champion advanced to the round of 16 for the ninth time and will play unseeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine.
Mayer fell to 1-25 against Top 10 opponents.
Monfils retires
Gael Monfils retired from his third-round match at the U.S. Open, leaving the men’s bracket with none of last year’s semifinalists at Flushing Meadows.
The 18th-seeded Frenchman stopped playing in the second set while trailing No. 9 seed David Goffin 7-5, 5-1.
Monfils had been dealing with a right knee injury since Wimbledon but when asked why he quit Saturday, initially responded: “The body. Whole body.”
Asked for specifics, he mentioned both knees, his arm and his back.
“It was pretty rough,” Monfils said.
He was the only one of the 2016 men’s semifinalists who entered the tournament this year. Champion Stan Wawrinka, runner-up Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori all withdrew before the U.S. Open began because of injuries.
