US Open 2022: Ruthless Rafael Nadal thrashes Richard Gasquet to storm into fourth round

Rafa Nadal handed old foe Richard Gasquet a Flushing Meadows mugging on Saturday, walloping the Frenchman 6-0 6-1 7-5 to ease into the U.S. Open fourth round.

Losing to Nadal is nothing new for Gasquet, who is now 0-18 against the Spaniard but seldom over the years has the Frenchman absorbed such a beating.

Arriving at Flushing Meadows having played just a single match since pulling out of Wimbledon semifinals with an abdominal injury, Nadal has been in a race to find form.

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After two tough four-set wins - over Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata in his opener and Italy's Fabio Fognini in the second round - Nadal said there were signs of progress against Gasquet.

But the 36-year-old acknowledged he will need much more improvement if he is to challenge for a fifth U.S. Open title, which would tie him with Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras for the most in the Open Era.

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Up next for Nadal is American hope Frances Tiafoe, who advanced with a 7-6(7) 6-4 6-4 win over Argentine 14th seed Diego Schwartzman.

"My best match in the tournament, easy," Nadal said of Saturday's win. "An important improvement. But I need to keep going.

"I know this is the right moment to make an improvement if I want to keep having chances to keep going on the tournament. Today was an improvement. I need another important improvement for the next day."

Nadal is always a favourite in New York but such was the second seed's dominance that even the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd tried to lift Gasquet's spirit as he fell behind 6-0 3-0.

When Gasquet finally held serve in the 10th game, the crowd gave a mighty roar as the 36-year-old French veteran raised his arms into the air in celebration.

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The beating, however, quickly resumed with Nadal sweeping the next five games to take the second set and a 2-0 lead in the third.

At that point Nadal took his foot off the gas and when Gasquet broke the 22-times Grand Slam winner to level the third set at 2-2, it earned him a standing ovation.

It took a few games for Nadal to get back in gear, but the outcome was never in doubt, the Spaniard collecting his seventh break of the match to go up 6-5 then coolly holding serve to clinch a convincing win.