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Verdasco next up for Nadal steamroller

Spanish powerhouse Fernando Verdasco faces the ultimate test in men’s tennis on Thursday when he goes up against all-conquering Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The top seed has been in overwhelming form in New York and has yet to drop a set or even his serve in four outings.

Against compatriot Verdasco, Nadal enjoys a 10-0 win-loss record and their last meeting in the Monte Carlo Masters final in April ended in a 6-0, 6-1 rout in favour of the world number one.

Nadal though says he is taking nothing for granted against Verdasco who battled through four hours 23 minutes to reach the last eight against another Spaniard, David Ferrer.

‘He’s a very complete player. He has all the shots and he’s playing very well, no?’ Much better than he did in the last months, so it’s going to be a very difficult match,’ he said.

‘I saw him play today (against Ferrer), and I saw him play against (David) Nalbandian the other day.

‘He’s playing very good tennis, so it will be a very interesting match. I have to play aggressive, to play well.

Nadal has much to play for as he is bidding to become the youngest player to complete the set of all four Grand Slam titles having previously won five French Opens, two Wimbledons and one Australian Open.

Rather than dwelling on the last match between the two men, Verdasco will look to the classic semi-final they played in the 2009 Australian Open when Nadal won 6-4 in the fifth set.

He came back out two days later and incredibly defeated Roger Federer, also in five sets, to win his first title Down Under.

‘Everybody knows that he’s No. 1 in the world; he’s a great player,’ Verdasco said.

‘My record is not good against him. But I will keep trying and keep fighting to make the first time here.’

The other semi-final in the top half of the draw is a more unexpected affair with Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, taking on Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.

Wawrinka, seeded 27, has shown a new side to his character and game in New York having taken on as coach Peter Lundgren, who worked with Roger Federer from 2000 to 2003 and then Marat Safin.

He used an aggressive, physical approach to down fourth seed Andy Murray in the third round and then played a cagey, tactical game to take out the final remaining home hope, Sam Querrey.

Youzhny and Wawrinka know each other well, and stand 2-2 in their head-to-heads, the Russian winning their only encounter this year in three sets at the Miami Masters.

‘He’s a tough player,’ Wawrinka commented.

‘He’s really strong player from the baseline. He has a great backhand. We already played sometimes together. I think we always have a tough match.’