Rafael Nadal Cruises Past Vasek Pospisil in 2018 US Open 2nd Round

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal coasted into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Vasek Pospisil at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Wednesday night.

Nadal is now 2-0 lifetime against Pospisil, who punched his ticket to the second round Monday with a straight-sets victory over Lukas Lacko.

The Spaniard, however, represented an entirely different caliber of competitor and flustered the 88th-ranked player on the ATP Tour with his blend of power and pinpoint accuracy on serve as well as decisive decision-making from the baseline.

The clear alpha in a lopsided matchup, Nadal imposed his will early and often. He got off to a rollicking start in the opening frame by breaking Pospisil on his first service game, and that was a sign of things to come.

Nadal closed out the first set with a comfortable 6-3 cushion, and he won 95 percent of his points on first serve over that stretch.

However, Nadal briefly ran into trouble in the second set.

Although Pospisil failed to capitalize on three break-point opportunities up 2-1, he broke through and secured a break on Nadal's ensuing service game to take a 4-2 lead with a chance to knot the proceedings at a set apiece.

Nadal, the seasoned 17-time major champion that he is, refused to let the momentary lapse fluster him.

Instead, he responded with an instant break back at 4-3 and added another for good measure before closing out the stanza on serve to squash any lingering doubts.

By match's end, Nadal landed 73 percent of his first serves in—a figure that compared favorably to Pospisil's paltry mark of 54 percent as the Canadian struggled to find a rhythm and squeeze out easy points that could have helped extend the match.

Additionally, Nadal used his baseline prowess to send Pospisil scurrying for balls left and right as he covered a whopping 46.2 feet per point.

The tournament's defending champ will now prepare for a third-round showdown against No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov on Friday.

Nadal is 4-0 lifetime against Khachanov, including a win on hard court in Canada earlier this year. Their lone meeting on the Grand Slam stage came at Wimbledon in 2017 when Nadal secured a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win in the round of 32.

Stats via USOpen.org.