Rafael Nadal meets Richard Gasquet on Saturday in the 2013 US Open semifinals. The match is slated for 2:50 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream HERE.
As Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic readily admitted at the start of the tournament, Nadal is the man to beat. The 27-year-old has played better than ever on hard courts and nabbed the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters titles en route to the US Open.
His convincing win in the quarterfinals over Tommy Robredo cements Nadal as the favorite to win the tournament, where he's likely to meet Djokovic in the final. Nadal, focused on only the next game, must first defeat Gasquet on Saturday to continue the bid for his second US Open title.
Despite being 0-10 against Nadal, Gasquet does have one win over the Spaniard - in a junior match when they were 13 years old, according to BBC.
"He's a nice guy, very nice person, one of the players on the tour that I feel closer to because we are from the same age," Nadal told BBC. "We grew up in similar ways and we played when we were kids. Today we have the chance to be in the semi-finals of the US Open, so it's great. It's a great thing for both of us, so I'm very happy."
Gasquet, ranked No. 9 in the World, is 39-14 on the season with two ATP titles. His five-set win in the quarterfinals over David Ferrer earned the Frenchman a spot in the semifinals. Gasquet knows battling Nadal will be perhaps the biggest challenge of the tournament.
"I think it's very difficult to play against Rafa," Gasquet admitted to BBC. "It's very difficult because he's powerful, especially with the forehand. I'm in the semis in the US Open. I want to do the best I can do.
"I will try to go in this match to win. If not, don't go on the court. But I know he's the favourite for the match. Nobody will say I'm the favourite."
Nadal has always gotten the better of Gasquet. They last met in 2011 at the David Cup, where Nadal won in three sets.
*Stats via ATPWorldTour.com and MatchStat.com.
