US Open: Nadal forced to work for win

US Open

Defending champion Rafael Nadal barely got through a real Test in the third round of the US Open, edging No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in an entertaining, back-and-forth match that lasted 4 hours, 23 minutes.

Nadal kept getting pushed to the brink and kept coming up with the answers.

He was two points away from falling into a two-set hole.

He was two points away from dropping the third set.

He was one point from losing the fourth set and being pushed to a fifth.

Instead, the No. 1-ranked Nadal moved into the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the 10th time in his past 11 appearances.

Nadal is bidding for his fourth US Open championship and 18th Grand Slam title overall.