Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a shot to Sam Querrey (out of pic) of the United States during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, yesterday. - AP

NEW YORK (AP):

Rafael Nadal withstood his first test at this U.S. Open, shifting into another gear to beat Sam Querrey 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-3 yesterday and match his best result at the tournament that's always bedeviled him.

Playing for the sixth year at Flushing Meadows, the No. 1-ranked Nadal rallied to reach the quarter-finals. He got quite a workout - and a scare - from his unseeded, 20-year-old American opponent.

"Very tough," Nadal said. "Sam is a big player, a big server. He has a great future."

Tie-breaker

Down 6-5 in the third set, Nadal suddenly flashed the form that won at Wimbledon, the French Open and the Olympics. Hitting harder, grunting louder and moving in closer, he quickly forced a tie-breaker and leaped to celebrate.

Nadal won the final four points to take the tie-breaker and later served out the match.

Nadal next plays another unseeded American, Mardy Fish, who reached the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open for the first time with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 32 Gael Monfils.

Venus Williams did her part to set up yet another Grand Slam family reunion, beating ninth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-3.

After she won, Williams could only wait to see whether she'd play her sister tomorrow in the quarter-finals.

Serena Williams was set to face Severine Bremond last night.

Both sisters are two-time U.S. Open champions. They are 8-8 overall against each other, including 5-5 at majors. Their match-ups, however, usually come much later than the quarters.

Also, sixth-seeded Dinara Safina beat qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 7-5, 6-0 and will face number 16 Flavia Pennetta, who defeated two-time major champion Amelie Maursemo 6-3, 6-0.

Solid show

Ranked 55th, Querrey gave a solid show and became the first player to take a set from Nadal at this Open. His fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium private box were vocal, particularly the three who had their shirts off and spelled out S-A-M on their chests.

A bit jittery at the start, the six-foot six in (1.98-metre) Querrey boomed 20 aces and showed no fear, trading big shots with Nadal all match long. He drew a standing ovation at the end for his effort, and smiled broadly.

"Came up a little short. The guy's too good," Querrey said.

Playing in his ninth US Open and coming off his upset over James Blake, Fish kept busy as his wedding approaches. He will marry "Deal or No Deal" model Stacey Gardner on September 28 - she watched from his private box, minus her shiny number two briefcase.

"I desperately wanted to play well here," he said. "Desperately."

Fish matched the best Grand Slam result of his career, having reached the quarters at the 2007 Australian Open.

Ranked as high as No. 17 in 2004, the 26-year-old Fish has worked three years to recover from an injured wrist that required extensive surgery. Fish waved to his private box after match point. The entourage included his father, Tom, who celebrated his birthday.

No such fun for Monfils, who turned 22 yesterday.

Safina coasted home after a close first set against Groenefeld, the first qualifier to reach the fourth round since Anna Kournikova in 1996. Safina equalled her best result at Flushing Meadows and kept up the best season of her career.

Safina reached the final at the French Open and later won 15 straight matches before losing to Elena Dementieva in the gold medal match at the Olympics.