In the first set, it looked like it might happen. Everything that Mardy Fish said before the match–his "absolute" confidence–suddenly made sense.

Until it didn’t. Nadal made extremely quick work of Fish after dropping the first set. It was just an overwhelming blitz of slicker, faster stronger tennis from the No. 1 player in the world.

By time the match ended, at a little after 2 a.m., the crowd was mostly gone from Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the few unlucky souls left had to battle overeager livery cab drivers who wanted to charge $55+ for a ride anywhere in Brooklyn, and far more for Manhattan.

Meanwhile, Nadal’s next test, Andy Murray, should be much tougher, but Nadal has been on this stage before and he’s this close to making it to his third consecutive Grand Slam final.

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