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US Open 2018: Rafael Nadal beats Karen Khachanov to reach fourth round

Defending champion Rafael Nadal dug deep to outmanoeuvre powerful Russian Karen Khachanov and win their thrilling US Open third-round match in four sets.

Nadal, 32, was a set and a break down before fighting back to win 5-7 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3).

The Spanish top seed failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fourth, but recovered to take the tie-break.

World number one Nadal will play Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last 16.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion, aiming for a fourth US Open title, needed all of his enormous will-to-win and tactical nous to see off Khachanov, who hit 22 aces and 66 winners.