NEW YORK -- World number one Rafael Nadal encouraged the victims of recent natural disasters not to give up and to fight back after devastation to their lives and homes after his US Open final triumph Sunday.
The 31-year-old Spaniard won his 16th Grand Slam title and third US Open crown by defeating South African 28th seed Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to take a top prize of $3.7 million (3.07 million euros).
His victory came as Hurricane Irma was causing extensive damage across Florida, the home base for Anderson and many other top tennis stars, after the killer storm had devastated several Caribbean nations.
And in the wake of an earthquake in Mexico and flooding from another hurricane last week along the Texas coast that played out during the Flushing Meadows fortnight, Nadal used his moment in the spotlight to say his heart was with those in need.
"I just want to say sorry for all the victims and keep going for everybody," Nadal said.
"It's very sad moments for our world but keep fighting to come back."
Nadal, who won his 10th French Open crown in June, reflected on a year that followed two down seasons nagged by injuries that had some doubting he would ever regain Slam championship form.
"It's just unbelievable what happened this year," he said. "After a couple of years with a lot of trouble, I've been playing a very high level of tennis.
"To close the Grand Slam year winning at New York -- that's one of the events that's really high energy, the crowd -- makes me so so happy.
"Thanks to life for giving me that opportunity... this US Open I feel a little bit like home."
Nadal also took a moment to praise Anderson as "a great example for a lot of kids and the rest of the tour. You came back from a lot of injuries better than ever."
Anderson, 31, was in his first Slam final and while unable to even muster a break point against Nadal, he praised the Spaniard as one of his idols, saying, "I know we're the same age but I feel like I've been watching you my whole life.
"You're one of the toughest competitors in the game and one of the greatest ambassadors of our sport."
Anderson said he would work hard to try and reach more Slam finals.
"This isn't the result I always wanted but I'll keep fighting and I'll be back," said Anderson. "I'm going to keep working hard. Hopefully I'll keep giving myself opportunities."
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NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal can wrap up a 16th Grand Slam title and third at the US Open on Sunday but has to find a way past the almost unbreakable spirit of South Africa's Kevin Anderson.
The 31-year-old Spaniard, who captured a 10th Roland Garros in June and was runner-up to Roger Federer at the Australian Open in January, is the overwhelming favourite.
He is the world number one playing in his 23rd Slam final and who won his first major as a 19-year-old at the sixth attempt.
Anderson, two weeks older, is playing in his first final at the Slams after a career stretching 32 majors.
Nadal's 73 career titles also dwarf Anderson's modest three.
But the Spaniard is wary of the challenge posed by 6ft 8in (2.02m) Anderson's deadly serve.
At the US Open, the South African has fired 114 aces and has been broken just five times in 108 service games.
He has also unleashed the tournament's third fastest serve of 137 mph (220.4km/h).
"It's a very tough one. He's a huge player with an unbelievable serve and he plays so well on these kinds of surfaces," said Nadal of a player he has known since he was 12 years old.
"I need to be ready for it. It is probably the most important match for me that remains this year, so I am going to try my best to play my best."
Nadal was champion in New York in 2010 and 2013 while finishing runner-up in 2011.
He was expected to have been pushed hard by 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, who knocked out Federer in the last eight, when they met in Friday's semi-finals.
But after being out-fought and out-thought in the first set, Nadal switched up his tactics, had the weary Del Potro scrambling around the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and eventually claimed a 15th successive semi-final win at the Slams.
Victory on Sunday would take Nadal to within three majors of Federer's record of 19 and extend the iron grip of Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka.
Since Federer won his first Wimbledon in 2003, an incredible 52 of the 57 Slams have been claimed by the five men.
- 'Greatest competitor' -
However, with former winners Djokovic, Murray and 2016 champion Wawrinka all not playing this year, opportunity has knocked for Anderson.
"We are accustomed to the few guys doing well, exceptional consistency. It's tough beating those guys because they have had so much experience at this level," said the world number 32.
"Even with them out, there have still been a lot of challenges I've had to face throughout this week. I have faced some of the best tennis players in the world."
Anderson is 0-4 against Nadal, losing their most recent clash in Barcelona this year as the Spaniard swept regally through the European clay court swing.
In those four meetings, the Johannesburg-born Florida-based Anderson has claimed just one set.
In the pair's only clash at the Slams, Nadal won in straight sets in the Australian Open fourth round in 2015.
"Nadal is one of the greatest competitors in sports, period. He's an amazing fighter," said Anderson, the first South African in the US Open final since Cliff Drysdale in 1965.
Johan Kriek remains the last Slam champion from the country, winning the 1981 Australian Open.
"Nadal really controls the court well," Anderson said. "I really need to be dominant and control proceedings as much as possible, because if you let him do it, it's very difficult."
Sunday will be also an emotional occasion for Nadal's coach since childhood, his uncle Toni, who will retire from life on the road at year's end to devote himself to his nephew's academy in Mallorca.
"He lives 300 meters from my house. I train at the academy. He is my uncle and he will continue to give me advice, but he has the right to do what makes him happy," said Nadal.
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NEW YORK -- Sloane Stephens, sidelined for 11 months by a left foot injury until returning in July, captured her first Grand Slam title by routing fellow American Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in Saturday's US Open final.
Stephens took a $3.7 million (3.07 million euros) top prize from the biggest victory of her career, pitted against one of her closest friends in the first all-US final since 2002 on the New York hardcourts.
"I should just retire now," Stephens said. "I'll never be able to top this. Talk about a comeback. Things just have to come together and the past six weeks they really have."
With the 15th victory in her past 17 matches, Stephens became only the fifth unseeded player to win a women's Slam title, although Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko managed the feat at this year's French Open.
The only prior unseeded US Open women's champion was Kim Clijsters, who came back from retirement to take the 2009 title.
"It's incredible," Stephens said. "I had surgery January 23. If sone told me then I'd win the US Open, it's imposssible I'd say, absolutely impossible.
"This journey has been incredible and honestly I wouldn't change it for the world."
Stephens made only six unforced errors in the match to 30 for Keys, who had 18 winners to 10 for the champion.
It was the first final set of a US Open women's championship match where the loser didn't take a game since Chris Evert beat Evonne Goolagong 6-3, 6-0 in 1976.
"I didn't play my best tennis today and I'm disappointed in that but Sloane was very supportive and if there's someone I have to lose to today I'm glad it's her. Sloane is truly one of my favorite people.
"If you told me two months ago I'd be holding a US Open finalist's trophy I'd have been really happy and proud of myself."
Presented with the winner's check, Stephens said, 'That's a lot of money. Wow," but then handed the check envelope to best pal Keys, who she sat next to after the victory rather than on opposite sides of the umpire's chair, to take hold of the winner's trophy.
"Maddie is my best friend on tour," Stephens said. "I told her I wished there could have been a draw. I'm going to support her no matter what and she's going to support me no matter what.
"To stand here with her today is incredible -- that's what really friendship is."
Keys, seeded 15th, and 83rd-ranked Stephens each fought off injuries to reach the title showdown.
Stephens returned at Wimbledon and slid to 957th in world rankings before semi-final runs at US Open tuneups in Toronto and Cincinnati, while Keys underwent her second left wrist surgery after the French Open and won a tuneup title at Stanford.
Stephens will jump to 17th in Monday's world rankings while Keys, who took hom $1.825 million as runner-up, will rise to 12th.
In the firset set, Stephens broke to seize a 3-2 lead, Keys swatting a forehand beyond the baseline to surrender the game, and Stephens broke again when Keys send a backhand long to take the set after 30 minutes.
Keys made 17 unforced errors in the opening set to just two for Stephens, both in the last game.
In the second set, Stephens broke with a forehand crosscourt winner past on outstretched Keys to grab a 2-0 edge, then broke again on a double fault for a 4-0 lead, Keys swatting the ball with her left hand as it bounced back at her.
Keys forced triple break point in the fifth game but Stephens saved them all and held to 5-0.
The end came after 61 minutes on Stephens' third break and championship point when Keys netted a forehand.
Hands on hips, Stephens simply stood for a few seconds with a stunned expression, then smiled and made a tiny fist pump before going to the net to share a teary-eyed hug with Keys.
Neither Keys, 22, nor Stephens, 24, had ever reached a Slam final, only the seventh time in the Open Era (since 1967) two first-timers met for a women's Slam title.
But it was the second time in three years it happened at Arthur Ashe Stadium after Flavia Pennetta beat Roberta Vinci in 2015's all-Italian final.
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NEW YORK - World number one Rafael Nadal, nagged for years by knee injuries but enjoying a stellar season, already has a prize more treasured than another Grand Slam title -- a healthy campaign chasing them.
The 31-year-old Spaniard, who ousted Juan Martin del Potro on Friday to reach Sunday's US Open final, said the year he has enjoyed has brought a happiness no Slam crown can match after past seasons of misery unable to unleash his best efforts.
"For me, more than winning Grand Slams or not -- of course, if I win, I will be more happy -- but is about being healthy and feeling well and competitive," Nadal said. "That's already happened in the whole season. So that's the most important thing for me."
Nadal seeks his third US Open title after 2010 and 2013 and his 16th career major when he faces South African 28th seed Kevin Anderson.
"What is more important, more than winning Slams, is to be happy," Nadal said. "I am happy if I am healthy and happy if I feel competitive most of the weeks I'm playing and that's what happened this year.
"I am very happy to win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Roland Garros. I am very happy to be in the final here in the US Open... and I am going to fight to win another title here. But still, a great season for me."
Nadal, who lost to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final but won his 10th French Open crown in June, has reached three Slam finals for the first season since 2011.
He hasn't won multiple Slams in a season since 2013, but he did thump del Potro for his 15th consecutive Slam semi-final triumph, the last loss coming to del Potro in the South American's 2009 US Open championship run.
"Important day for me. Important victory against a great opponent," Nadal said.
"I woke up today and said to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game.'
"A lot of times I know that and it didn't happen, but today it happened."
Nadal said that sometimes the only way to get better is to win matches, victories building the final 20 to 30% he needs to maximize his potent game.
"You need to win matches," Nadal said. "If you practice well and you feel yourself well, you have more chances to win matches in the tournaments.
"But this 20, 30%, that's a big difference. You only make this winning matches, because it's about confidence. It's about things that when you are on court comes automatic.
"You don't have to think about what you doing in some important moments. Things comes straightaway without thinking that much and all these things happen only when you are in a good moment."
Few were better than his clay court run with two Spain titles, Monte Carlo and the capper at Roland Garros.
"Clay court season was unbelievable, so that helps a lot for my confidence, to be more calm and I'm here in the final," Nadal said.
"It's a great result for me already. I will now face a very tough opponent, probably the most important match for me that remains this year, so I gonna try my best to play my best."
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A new grand slam champion will be crowned at the U.S. Open after Sloane Stephens beat fellow American Venus Williams 6-1 0-6 7-5 in a rollercoaster of a semi-final on Thursday.
Stephens, who returned to competition at Wimbledon after nearly a year off because of a foot injury, recovered from a second-set meltdown to end ninth seed Williams's hopes of reaching a third major final this year.
She will meet either CoCo Vandeweghe or Madison Keys, who face each other later on Thursday, in an all American final.
"I have no words to describe what I'm feeling what it took to get here. The journey I took. I have no words," said Stephens, who underwent foot surgery last February.
"If someone told me I'd make two semis and a grand slam final this year I would have passed out, which is what I feel like doing now.
"I don't know how I got here. Hard work, that's it."
The 24-year-old Stephens, 13 years younger than Williams, paid tribute to the seven-time grand slam champion.
"I'm honestly just honoured to play at the same time as her. One of the greatest to ever play our game. She's one of the greatest competitors and I'm honoured to share the court with her and glad to play at the same time as her.
"For American tennis there's no question marks. The proof is in the pudding. American tennis, here we are."
Despite her lack of match play this year, Stephens began confidently and broke for 3-1 when Williams netted a routine forehand and then went on to win the last three games of the set as the 37-year-old strangely appeared to struggle with serve.
Williams was in danger again on her first service game in the second set but she managed to hold and broke in the next game thanks to a Stephens double fault.
She then held to love to stamp her domination on the second set and moved 4-0 up with a lovely service return followed by a routine volley as Stephens showed she was clearly struggling and lost the set to love when she hit yet another unforced error.
The 24-year-old, however, got back on track in the decider, taking a 1-0 lead on Williams serve when she netted an easy volley.
She saved two break points in the following game but Williams levelled for 2-2 when Stephens's forehand sailed wide.
But at the end of a seven-minute game, Williams netted a routine volley again to give her opponent a break for 4-3.
Williams broke straight back with a service return winner and she saved a break point to hold for 5-4.
But as Williams struggled with her volley, Stephens broke for love in the 11th game and followed up on serve to close it out as Williams netted a backhand.
"It was definitely a contrast of play," Williams said of the roller-coaster match.
"You know, I continued to play aggressive and continued to play the kind of match that it takes to win. Just made too many errors there at the end."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- (UPDATED) Juan Martin del Potro sensationally gatecrashed the US Open again on Wednesday, stunning five-champion Roger Federer and shattering hopes of a first New York showdown between the Swiss legend and Rafael Nadal.
The Argentine giant, who won his only Grand Slam title in the city in 2009 by beating Federer in the final after seeing off Nadal in the semis, triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 in front of a spellbound Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
The 28-year-old will once again face world number one Nadal in the semi-finals on Friday, a stunning achievement for a man who had saved two match points to beat sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the last 16.
Nadal, who will keep his world number one status following third seed Federer's exit, had earlier defeated Russian teenager Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 97 minutes.
It will be a sixth US Open semi-final for Nadal and 26th at the majors while Del Potro, the 24th seed, will be playing in just his fourth last-four match at the Slams.
For 36-year-old Federer, it was a first Slam loss of 2017 after he had captured the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles to take his career tally to 19.
"I served really good. I hit my forehand as hard as I could and I played a great match. I deserved to win," said Del Potro who will be in his first Slam semi-final since Wimbledon in 2013.
"This feels like my home court. I played Rafa here in 2009 too. Hopefully I can get the same result on Friday."
Del Potro, whose career was almost ended last year after undergoing four wrist surgeries, wrapped up the first set thanks to a break in the 11th game secured with a blistering crosscourt pass.
Federer, who had a 16-5 winning record over Del Potro ahead of the quarter-final, levelled the tie after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second.
However, the match turned in the third set tiebreak when Del Potro saved four set points before a weary and error-riddled Federer dropped serve again to trail 3-2 in the fourth.
Victory was Del Potro's eight minutes short of three hours with a deep forehand as Federer was left to survey the wreckage of 41 unforced errors.
"It's hard to explain, I didn't play that badly," said Federer.
"I just ran into a guy who was better on the bigger points. I don't deserve to still be in the tournament."
Nadal will take an 8-5 record over Del Potro into the semi-final where the winner will face either Kevin Anderson or Pablo Carreno Busta for the title.
"Juan Martin is a top player. When he's playing well, it's difficult to stop him. Probably the forehand is maybe the fastest on the tour," said Nadal, who is chasing his second major of the year to add to his French Open.
Rublev, bidding to be the youngest man in 17 years to reach the semi-finals, had no complaints over his loss to Nadal.
"He gave me a lesson: 1, 2, and 2," said the Russian, who lost 16 of the last 19 points of the opening set and finished with 43 unforced errors.
- All American -
The women's semi-finals will be an all-American affair after CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys set-up a last-four duel.
Thursday's other tie will see seven-time major champion Venus Williams face Sloane Stephens.
American 20th seed Vandeweghe claimed a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over the Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova, whose brief eight-week stay as world number one ended with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza taking over.
Vandeweghe's victory means that the US Open will have an all-American semi-final line-up for the first time since 1981 after Keys defeated Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3.
"I won the juniors here when I was 16 and dreamed of playing on the real stage," said 25-year-old Vandeweghe, who also made the semi-finals at the Australian Open, beating then-world number one Angelique Kerber in the process.
The last time four US women were in the semis was 36 years ago when eventual champion Tracy Austin, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Barbara Potter all made it.
Keys, the 15th seed, will be playing in her second Slam semi-final after the 2015 Australian Open.
"It means the world to me," said Keys, who underwent wrist surgery earlier this season.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - Sloane Stephens took down 16th-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova with a gritty 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) win on Tuesday to lead what could be an American parade into the U.S. Open semi-finals.
For the first time in 15 years four American women reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows with the 83rd-ranked Stephens hoping to be joined in the last four by Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys.
With her win over 16th seed Sevastova, Stephens becomes the first American woman apart from Venus or Serena Williams to make the U.S. Open last four since 2004.
"Man, I am hoping we can make it four, how awesome would that be," said Stephens. "This is pretty amazing. I hope there are four Americans in the semi-finals."
Ranked outside the top 950 just six weeks ago, Stephens was the most likely of the U.S. contenders to see her run end in the quarter-finals but the 24-year-old would not be denied.
Down 3-1 and a double break point in the third set, she dug deep and rode the support of a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to get back on level terms and force a tiebreak,
She clinched victory on her first match point with a thundering a forehand winner down the line.
"I just told myself to keep fighting," said Stephens. "I just knew that if I just stuck with it and continued to play my game I was going to have an opportunity."
SIZZLING RUN
Sidelined for almost a year after foot surgery last summer, Stephens has been on a sizzling run since her return, playing four events and reaching the semis in Toronto and Cincinnati.
"A month ago before I started winning matches I was really worried," she said. "There were just so many things I was worried about but once I just realised I have it good, I play tennis and have fun every day it just relieved a lot of stress.
"I was finally able to play my game, play loose and 'BAM' here we are."
Making her first appearance on Arthur Ashe, Stephens got the match off to a jittery start when she was broken by the crafty Sevastova.
But the American quickly settled her nerves, breaking right back and then taking Sevastova's serve again at 3-1 as her opponent suddenly began to show signs of distress.
With Stephens ahead 5-2, the Latvian called for the trainer at the changeover and was soon stretched out on the court while she had her right thigh worked on.
Sevastova, who came back from a set down to beat Russia's five-time grand slam champion and crowd favourite Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, rallied again and secured the only break of the second set at 3-1 on her way to levelling the contest and setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
"When I started my comeback at Wimbledon I could have never dreamed of something like this, these results and making the semi-finals in my home slam, my favorite tournament," said Stephens. "It is indescribable."
(Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris)
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NEW YORK - An ailing Juan Martin Del Potro came back from the brink of defeat to beat Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 and reach the last eight of the U.S. Open on Monday.
Del Potro, the 2009 champion who will next face Roger Federer, saved two match points in the fourth set of what was arguably the best of the tournament so far.
"Oh my God, I don't know (I won). What can I say after a battle like this. I was sick the last two days and I just tried to improve game after game," 24th seed Del Potro, who took a pill near the end of the opening set, said on court.
"I fought like this because of you guys, so thank you very much," he added in reference to the noisy Argentine fans who had turned the Grandstand Arena into a raucous soccer-stadium like atmosphere.
"The crowd was on his side. But it was a great atmosphere," said Thiem. "I mean, we're not playing every day in an atmosphere like this."
Del Potro struggled early on, spraying the court with unforced errors and the Argentine called the doctor twice.
At 5-0, he took a tablet. He won one game and had two break points at 5-1 but Thiem, who was looking to book his spot in the last eight here for the first time, coolly closed out the set.
He raced to a 4-0 lead in the second as Del Potro looked completely out of sorts.
The 'Dominator' was in full control, dictating the play with deep forehands, and he sealed the set with a cracking backhand winner down the line.
The question was then whether Del Potro would retire.
But the Argentine found his range with his impressive wristy forehand. His opponent could not keep up the pace and Del Potro easily pulled one back.
The real fight started in the fourth set.
Del Potro broke for 2-1 but Thiem played tighter and broke immediately back. A delightful backhand winner earned him another break for 4-2 and the Austrian served for the set at 5-3.
He led 30-0 but lost his focus and scooped a forehand long to allow Del Potro back in the contest.
Thiem had two match points at 6-5 but Del Potro saved them with consecutive aces -- one of them at 204 kph.
In the resulting tiebreak, Thiem suffered a meltdown and Del Potro levelled with a gravity-defying crosscourt forehand winner.
The decider was tightly contested but Del Potro eventually had the last word. On the second match point, he challenged Thiem's second serve and was spot on as the ball was out, meaning the wiry Argentine got to fight another day.
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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NEW YORK -- Defying an energy-sapping disease, Venus Williams has pushed herself farther than she ever imagined at age 37 to reach her 39th career Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open.
US ninth-seed Williams, seeking her eighth Grand Slam title and third US Open crown, defeated Spain's 35th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, Sunday.
She booked a Tuesday fight for a semi-final spot against Czech 13th-seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner who defeated Spanish third-seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Williams, this year's Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up and the oldest woman in this year's US Open draw, is only 1-4 against Kvitova, but she has grown accustomed to overcoming the odds.
In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren's disease, which leaves her weakened and pushed her into a vegan diet to stay competitive and combat the illness.
"Over time I've learned that I can push myself a lot further than I thought I could," Williams said. "I do have to push myself a lot. I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned.
"In the beginning, when everything is easy, you're healthy, it's easy to play when you don't have those odds against you. But when you have the odds against you, it's hard to find that in yourself every day."
Williams, 19-3 in majors this year, said she wasn't sure how she was able to stay competitive over rivals sometimes half her age.
"I love the pressure and I need a challenge," Williams said. "I don't know (how I sustain it). If I could do it I would put it in a box and sell it."
Williams said health, fitness, skill and love for the competition all play a role.
"You do have to have a love because it's a lot of work," she said. "There are sacrifices you make with your family, your loved ones -- just doing normal things like sitting on your own couch that are taken for granted. You have to have the love to deal with the pressure as well."
Playing for 20 years at the US Open and winning five Wimbledon crowns has made her a target the moment she steps on the court.
"It's never easy to win a Slam. Now I'll play players who I've never seen or know their name and you can't let up one point," Williams said.
"Players come out with a lot more confidence now. Every time I step out on the court, that person is coming for me. It doesn't matter if I played for a year, not even if I'm ranked 100 or number whatever, they're coming for me. When I get to these majors, I know that's what it is.
"They're playing well. They're not going to give you any matches. In the case if they do, I will accept it as well if they don't play as well as they want. I'm accepting all major credit cards and unforced errors."
Williams could return to the world top five for the first time since January 2011 if she beats Kvitova and reach world number two if she takes the title, although she hasn't played three Slam finals in a year since 2002.
Her win also kept alive host-nation hopes for an all-American US Open women's semis, with Sloane Stephens, Jennifer Brady and Madison Keys also in contention.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer edged closer to a US Open semi-final blockbuster on Saturday as controversial Italian Fabio Fognini was kicked out for a vile, misogynistic tirade at a female umpire.
Nadal, 31, saw off Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, taking his record over the world number 59 from Buenos Aires to 4-0.
He will face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, against whom he is 6-2, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Five-time champion Federer brushed aside 31st seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to take his career record against the Spaniard, playing a 63rd successive Grand Slam, to 13-0.
Next up for Federer is Philipp Kohlschreiber, who he leads 11-0.
Nadal had dropped the first set of his second-round match against Japan's Taro Daniel before winning in four.
Saturday was almost a carbon copy with the 15-time major winner unable to convert any of six points in the opener.
But the match turned in the 10-minute seventh game of the second set when, on his 14th break point of the encounter, Nadal finally smashed through.
"It was tough. It took 14 break points -- that's not a good figure. But I was there mentally and fought a lot at the right moments," said Nadal under the Arthur Ashe roof as rain fell outside.
Federer had needed back-to-back five-setters to defeat Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny in his first two rounds.
However, on Saturday, he swept past Lopez to reach the fourth round for the 16th time.
"I'm very happy to get through. It's a great feeling to play out here," said Federer.
"I struggled in the first two rounds but tonight I played a very clean match."
Kohlschreiber, the German 33rd seed, eliminated Australia's John Millman 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.
Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem defeated France's Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to make the last 16 for the third time in four years.
Thiem next faces 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who put out Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Russia's Andrey Rublev became the second teenager in the last 16 when he beat Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Rublev, just 19, faces Belgian ninth seed David Goffin, who progressed when 2016 semi-finalist Gael Monfils retired with a right knee injury.
Meanwhile, Fognini was kicked out of the tournament for making foul-mouthed comments to female umpire Louise Engzell during his first-round loss to Stefano Travaglia.
Fognini and compatriot Simone Bolelli had reached the third round of the men's doubles but tournament organizers axed him from the event.
Fognini, the world number 26, was also fined $24,000.
- Pliskova saves match point -
Women's top seed Karolina Pliskova saved a match point to defeat China's Zhang Shuai, hanging on to her world number one spot in the process.
Top seed Pliskova, the runner-up in 2016, triumphed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 but was forced to save a match point in the 10th game of the second set and recover from a break down in the decider.
"I was match point down and I thought I haven't tried many forehand winners down the line. That's what I did. I may not have got another chance," said the 25-year-old, who will next face Jennifer Brady of the United States.
Brady has just seven wins on the tour this year, but all have come at the Slams.
Had she lost on Saturday, Pliskova would also have been guaranteed to lose her world number one ranking to either Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza or Elina Svitolina.
Ukraine fourth seed Svitolina stayed in contention with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Shelby Rogers of the United States.
Russia's Daria Kasatkina reached the last 16 of a major for the first time by seeing off French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, the 12th seed, 6-3, 6-2.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
