Rafael Nadal was made to work by Andrey Kuznetsov at the US Open on Friday night, but finished strongly against the Russian in their third-round match, winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours. Nadal is now into the second week of a Grand Slam event for the first time since his quarter-final finish at Roland Garros last year, where he fell to Novak Djokovic. He lost in the third round of the US Open to Fabio Fognini last year, but had reached the final in his previous three appearances.

“I think I played well tonight,” Nadal said. “Very happy about the way I played. First set, especially, was very high level.” 

Nadal was nearly flawless in the opening set, landing 73 per cent of first serves and making only three unforced errors. Realising that consistency was not going to bring him victory, Kuznetsov threw caution to the wind in the second set, attacking Nadal’s second serves with flat forehands. He won 10 of 16 points when the Spaniard failed to land a first serve and broke serve twice. Unfortunately for the Russian, Nadal pursued the same strategy on return games and broke three times to build a commanding lead.

Relieved to emerge with the second set, Nadal rediscovered his rhythm and cruised to the finish line. Kuznetsov, who had reached the second week of a Grand Slam only once in 14 attempts coming into the fortnight, made a last stand with Nadal serving at 5-2, 40/0. The Russian saved three match points to force deuce, but saw the two-time US Open champion pull off a perfect tweener lob, then convert his fourth match point with an unplayable flat serve.

Nadal, who has yet to drop a set in three matches in Flushing Meadows, should have plenty of physical reserves to make a deep run in the US Open draw. His next opponent will be 22-year-old Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who rallied to beat Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets.

“He is a great player. He is young. He has all the shots: good serve, good forehand, good backhand. He’s a tough opponent,” Nadal said. “I practiced with him a couple of times and I played him a long time ago. I know he’s able to play at a very high level. I’ll need to be ready to play my best if I want to keep going.”

Pouille, who reached his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon this year, is playing the best tennis of his life. However, he may also be drained coming into a match against one of the most physically intimidating players in tennis history. Pouille has dropped the first set in every one of his three matches thus far and is coming off consecutive five-set battles.

A fist pump. A leaping punch to the air. A thumbs up. We’ve seen it all in post-match celebrations. Or have we?

American Jack Sock was more like Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow when celebrating his straight-sets win over Marin Cilic on Friday at the US Open to reach the fourth round.

⚔⚔⚔⚔⚔⚔ @JackSock #usopen pic.twitter.com/NnXPx2Z7W4

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2016

“I was fencing with my racquet,” Sock explained. “I became good buddies in Rio with one of the fencers, Miles Chamley-Watson. He lives here in New York. I have been trying to get him to come out and watch a match. He was able to come out here today. Kind of on the spot I thought of turning the racquet into… I think it’s called a foil… Thought of turning the racquet into one of those and doing something for him for coming out.

“I think people were enjoying it. I have seen the video. It looks pretty funny, actually. So if he’s in the box on the next one and I’m able to win, you might see a cleaned up technique and better version of it.”

Sock’s next opponent, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, also did a unique post-win celebration after beating Kevin Anderson on the Grandstand. The Frenchman, often noted for his likeness to the late Muhammad Ali, shadow boxed to celebrate a straight-sets win as he advanced to the fourth round for the third year in a row.

Fighting his way into the fourth round. @tsonga7 #usopen pic.twitter.com/hpELxetyq4

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2016

So which celebration will we see after their fourth round clash on Sunday? We’ll have to wait to find out!

Former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis is turning back the clock this week in Flushing Meadows. The Cypriot ousted American qualifier Ryan Harrison 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-1 on Friday at the US Open, reaching his first Grand Slam Round of 16 since the 2009 Australian Open.

Baghdatis fired 37 winners, including 10 aces, to prevail after two hours and 52 minutes. He was effective on return as well, converting six break chances. It is the 31-year-old’s best result in 11 appearances at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

“I’m happy I’m in the second week,” said Baghdatis. “It’s been a long time and I’m happy it came here. I never passed into the second week at the US Open. I don’t miss a lot of balls and give a lot of free points. When I need to attack, I do. I’m very happy with the way I’m moving and returning.

“My goal is to finish my career in the Top 20 (of the Emirates ATP Rankings). It’s a big challenge and I want to achieve that. I’m putting the right people around me to do it.”

Baghdatis will next face 10th seed and two-time US Open quarter-finalist Gael Monfils on Sunday. Monfils, who defeated Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, owns a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head edge over the Cypriot. He most recently earned a straight-set win at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati just last month.

“The good thing is I played him in Cincinnati,” Marcos said about Monfils. “I know what to expect and it’s going to be a tough battle, but I’ll try my best.”

Harrison, meanwhile, capped a strong week at his home Grand Slam, finishing with his best major result. One of four Americans to reach the third round, he notched the biggest win of his career in downing fifth seed Milos Raonic on Thursday.

#NextGen star Kyle Edmund set a high-powered fourth round encounter against top seed Novak Djokovic after stunning No. 1 American John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5). Edmund, who converted his third match point after two hours and 42 minutes, withstood a serving barrage from Isner that included 27 aces.

The 21-year-old Brit saved six of seven break points for his second upset of a seeded opponent this week. He opened the tournament with a straight-sets victory over 13th-seed Richard Gasquet on Monday.

Making his US Open main draw debut, Edmund has dropped just one set en route to his first major Round of 16. He will face off against Djokovic for the second time this year, having lost in the first round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami, in March.

After reaching the quarter-finals in 2011, Isner has fallen in the third round in New York in four of five years since. It marked just the American’s second defeat to an unseeded player at his home Grand Slam and first since 2008.

Novak Djokovic has had an easy passage to the US Open fourth round… perhaps a little too easy. The top seed was leading 4-2 in Friday’s third-round meeting with Mikhail Youzhny when the Russian retired with a leg injury.

Having received a walkover from Czech Jiri Vesely in the second round, Djokovic’s biggest concern heading into the second week of the Open will be a lack of match play. Top of mind will be the walkover Djokovic received from Fabio Fognini in the Roland Garros quarter-finals in 2011. At the time Djokovic was on a 43-match winning streak but the disruption to his rhythm caused by the Fognini walkover was attributed in part to his stumble against Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

Djokovic will meet the winner of John Isner and Kyle Edmund in the fourth round.

Jack Sock has come a long way from finding himself in a five-set battle with Taylor Fritz in the first round on Monday. Four days later and the American is through to the US Open fourth round for the first time after upsetting seventh seed and former champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

The 26^th-seeded Sock, who had fallen in the third round twice before, dominated proceedings, winning 28 points more than Cilic and limiting himself to just 15 unforced errors as he prevailed in one hour and 41 minutes.

Sock recorded his first Top 10 win in a major to reach the last 16 at a Grand Slam for the second time, having also done so at Roland Garros last year (l. to Nadal). Looking to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final, Sock will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The 23-year-old Sock is coming off a memorable summer, which saw him clinch a mixed doubles gold medal at the Olympics, alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and bronze in the men’s doubles with Steve Johnson. He was also a quarter-finalist at the Citi Open (l. to Karlovic) and reached the third round in Toronto (l. to Wawrinka). Earlier in the year, the Kansas resident was runner-up in Auckland and Houston.

Cilic was looking for a repeat of his 2014 title-winning run at Flushing Meadows. The Croat, who is playing his first tournament with new coach Jonas Bjorkman, came into the US Open in top form, after winning his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final.