Nadal Feeling Better About US Open Chances
Nadal Feeling Better About US Open Chances
Two-time champion looks to draw closer to his ‘Big Four’ rivals
Rafael Nadal shared some unfortunate but true news on Friday at the US Open.
“The Big Four,” he said, “are getting older.”
At 30, 29, 29, and 35, respectively, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are getting older. But they, including Nadal, still have found ways to dominate the game’s biggest tournaments, including ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and Grand Slam championships.
Since 2010, the Big Four have won 54 of the 59 Masters 1000 crowns and 24 of the 27 Grand Slam championships. In New York, Nadal said he feels ready to do his part to add another Grand Slam championship to the Big Four’s collective resume.
“It’s obvious that we will not be here forever. It’s true that Andy and Novak today are creating distance from the rest,” Nadal said. “Let’s see. I am excited about this part of the season.”
The final stop on the U.S. hard-court swing has traditionally been favourable to Nadal, the fourth seed in New York this year. The two-time US Open champion (2010, 2013) also finished as a finalist in 2011 and reached the last four in 2008 and 2009. “I’m very excited to play here,” Nadal said.
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The tournament will mark his first Grand Slam championship and only third overall tournament since withdrawing from Roland Garros on 27 May because of a left wrist injury. The 30 year old was set to challenge for his 10th title in Paris before missing his third-round match and the next two and a half months.
“I had been playing great before the injury,” said Nadal, who won Monte-Carlo and Barcelona on clay before Roland Garros. “I have been playing at a very high level…. I think I am practising well.”
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The left-hander returned to the ATP World Tour earlier this month at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he beat World No. 19 Pablos Cuevas in straight sets before falling to #NextGen star Borna Coric in the third round.
“I am better. I am a little bit better. It’s obvious that when you have been [out] two months and a half you need a little bit of time,” Nadal said of his wrist. “It’s true that the wrist bothers me a little bit less every day.”
He will open his 12th US Open against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, who reached the fourth round in New York in 2012 but is 7-20 this season.