Nadal roars into fourth round over Dodig

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Second-seeded Rafa Nadal extended his 2013 hard court record to 18-0 with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 battering of Ivan Dodig of Croatia on Saturday that sent the Spaniard into the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

(AAP)

Nadal, the undisputed King of Clay after winning his eighth French Open earlier this year on the red clay of Roland Garros, continued to show his hard court prowess as he ran the dogged Dodig relentlessly on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 2010 U.S. Open winner smacked 37 winners in the two-hour eight-minute victory, nearly double the number registered by Dodig, and showed his versatility by winning 14-of-17 forays to the net set up by his ferocious groundstrokes.

Nadal will play either 13th-seeded American John Isner or Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany for a berth in the quarter-finals.

(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Gene Cherry)