Photos from Flushing Meadows: Day 13

Nadal prepares...

...to do a little violence.

Nadal even seemed to be chasing after balls that landed out.

The effort was successful in the end, as Rafa moves on to play his third final in four years against Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open. “Hopefully I hope I will be ready,” he said.

NEW YORK—This was the first Saturday at the U.S. Open since 1978 that wasn’t officially Super. With the women’s final moved to Sunday afternoon, it was up to the men's semifinalists to carry the show, and carry it they did. The tournament got its first classic, or near-classic, match yesterday when Novak Djokovic beat Stan Wawrinka in five sets and more than four hours. Here’s a look back at that war of attrition, as well as Rafael Nadal’s comparatively routine win over Richard Gasquet afterward (Photos by Anita Aguilar):

They say to keep a still head when you swing; it looks like Novak Djokovic never moved his as he wrapped his arm around it for a forehand.

The top of the tennis mountain is a punishing place these days.

Stan Wawrinka has always had the shots; at this year’s Open he used them more intelligently than ever.

Wawrinka lost in five sets and was emotional afterwards...

...but the Open was a Slam to build on for him.

Djokovic bunny-hops into a backhand return.

Wawrinka made a lot of fans at Flushing with his attacking style.

In New York, when one player flaps his arms for noise...

...the only answer is to flap yours harder.

Novak’s emotions during a match always run the gamut.

Another classic, another nice moment at the net. The men’s game rarely disappoints for long.

Richard Gasquet begins his less-famous shot, his forehand.

There’s the famous one. He didn’t hit many backhand winners against Nadal.

Nadal prepares...

...to do a little violence.

Nadal even seemed to be chasing after balls that landed out.

The effort was successful in the end, as Rafa moves on to play his third final in four years against Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open. “Hopefully I hope I will be ready,” he said.