Open-Error-prone Nadal survives to make quarters

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top seed Rafael Nadal secured a place in the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open with a 6-2 5-7 7-6 6-3 win over American Sam Querrey on Monday but a string of unforced errors showed he was not invincible.

Chasing his first U.S. Open title, Nadal made light work of the first set but found himself under pressure in the second.

The American served 20 aces in the match and used his powerful forehand to take advantage of some uncharacteristic mistakes by Nadal on his trademark forehand.

Though he lost his own serve twice, Querrey broke the world number one three times to take the second set.

"I had some problems at 5-4 with my serve, with the wind -- I played a terrible game," Nadal said in a courtside interview. "But later he played very well and I played a very good tiebreak, so I am very happy for this win."

Nadal struck early in the third, breaking Querrey in the opening game but threw away the advantage when he gifted Querrey a break back in the eighth game with two double faults.

WILD FOREHAND

Buoyed by the home crowd, Querrey was going for his shots and hitting winners, while the French Open and Wimbledon champion pulled back on his serve and seemed to be tighter on his groundstrokes than usual.

In the tiebreak, it was the 20-year-old Querrey's turn to seize up. He netted a couple of shots while Nadal opted to become more aggressive by charging forward.

Querrey surrendered the tiebreak 7-2 with a wild forehand, allowing Nadal to leap high into the air in relief.

"I was just taking my chances, and ripped my forehands but just came up a little bit short," Querrey said. "This guy is just too good."

The 22-year-old Spaniard seemed back in charge in the fourth, dragging a weary Querrey around the court in long rallies to win a break in the sixth game.

But Querrey refused to give up, creating seven break points in a nail-biting seventh game that Nadal had to dig deep to survive.

Survive he did, taking the match with a crushing overhead shot.

Aware that he had dodged a bullet, Nadal said: "Sam is a big player, it was very tough match and he has a big future so I congratulate him today."