Treading lightly in Cincinnati as he returned from an abdominal tear, Rafael Nadal played just two practice sets before his appearance at the ATP Masters 1000, where he lost a three-setter to eventual champion Borna Coric in his opening match.

Ahead of the US Open, where he’s set to compete for the first time since he won the 2019 title, the Spaniard is ramping up the intensity on the practice court in preparation for his bid for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

“I took it very easy in Cincinnati, in the practices,” he said on Friday’s US Open Media Day. “The match, I tried my best without putting all the effort there on the serve.”

In New York, practising in front of crowds during US Open Fan Week, Nadal has been hitting at full tilt.

“[I’m] taking care with the serve, being honest,” he said, noting that the service motion can be “dangerous” and “risky” for his abdominal tear. “But in general terms, I am practising at a high level of intensity. I’m quite happy the way that I am playing. Of course, we need to compete later. But it’s already two weeks on the Tour, even if only one match professional, official. But practising every day with the guys helps me, without a doubt. I played sets every day for the last five days. That helps, of course.

“Before Cincinnati I just played two sets there before the tournament started, so it’s difficult.  Even if I had my chances [against Coric], the preparation had been not very long, but I gave myself a chance there. It was not possible [to win].  Let’s try here again, with a better preparation.  From my perspective, I am practising quite well. Let’s see what can happen, but I am happy with the practices.”

Nadal has won the US Open four times, in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019, more than any other Slam outside of Roland Garros. Set for his 16th New York appearance, he will open against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata on Tuesday evening in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Happy to be back,” he said. “Couple years without having the chance to be here since 2019.  Of course, [I’m] excited to play here. It’s one of the most important places in my tennis career, without a doubt. So just looking for every single practice to be better and better, just be competitive from the first round. So let’s see.”

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco is one win away from a return to the US Open main draw. The 38-year-old, a quarter-finalist in New York in 2009 and 2010, earned a Thursday qualifying victory as he seeks his 18th main-draw appearance at the year’s final Grand Slam and his first since 2019.

Verdasco was a 7-6(4), 6-3 winner against Mikhail Kukushkin as he produced a near-identical scoreline to his 7-6(5), 6-3 opening-round win against Italy’s Gianluca Mager.

He will face 12th seed Pavel Kotov on Friday for a place in the main draw. Kotov has also won all four of his qualifying sets, including a 6-3, 6-4 win against Sebastian Ofner on Thursday. He is seeking to qualify for a major for the second time in as many tries after he earned his place in the Roland Garros main draw in May.

.@FerVerdasco is fired up! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8sM2IXbVRI

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2022

American Christopher Eubanks also advanced to the final qualifying round with a dramatic three-set win in New York.

In one of the matches of the day, the 26-year-old edged France’s Gregoire Barrere 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 7-6(10-4) in a two-hour, 50-minute marathon. The former Georgia Tech star had three match points at 0/40 on return at 5-6 in the third set, but instead finished the match with a dominant performance in the tie-break, winning its first three and final five points.

Seeking to qualify for his home Slam for the second straight year as he bids for his fourth appearance in the 128-player field, Eubanks will next face Italy’s Raul Brancaccio, who won a 7-5 first set against Mats Moraing before the German retired.

Italian veteran Andreas Seppi moved closer to his 19th straight US Open main-draw appearance with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win against 26th seed Vasek Pospisil. Seppi and Brancaccio are among seven Italians into the third round of qualifying, including 10th seed Franco Agamenone, Francesco Maestrelli, Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli and Riccardo Bonadio.

Gilles Simon was knocked out of his farewell US Open with a loss against Arnaldi, who advanced 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. The Frenchman is set to retire following the 2022 season.

After entering the Winston-Salem Open at a career-high of No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Botic van de Zandschulp is knocking on the door of the Top 20 behind his third tour-level semi-final run of the season.

The second-seeded Dutchman defeated France’s Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(6), 7-6(1) to extend his strong debut at the North Carolina ATP 250 event, improving to 6-0 in sets on the week. Already up to No. 22 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, he will rise to No. 19 if he can win his first ATP Tour title on Saturday.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, making such a jump in the rankings, playing different tournaments, playing all the big tournaments,” said the 26-year-old, who broke into the Top 100 for the first time following his run to the US Open quarter-finals last year. “It’s every time a first time, and it’s also my first time here in Winston-Salem and for now I’m still loving it,” he added with a smile.

Van de Zandschulp battled back from 1/4 down to win the opening tie-break but dominated the second tie-break as he raised his level in the crucial moments. Bonzi did little wrong but could not cope with the varied attack from the Dutchman, who finished a 15-ace performance with an unreturned serve on match point.

“I played an unbelievable breaker,” he said of his success down the stretch against the 10th seed. “I think we both served great today, we both played a very good match and we played a high level. I’m really happy with the win.”

After an opening set that did not include a break point, van de Zandschulp recovered an early break in the second after saving two break points to hold for 2-3 and avoid going a double break behind. He won the first five points of the second tie-break as he wrapped up the win in just over two hours.

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP WTA Live
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

Another Frenchman awaits in the semi-finals after Adrian Mannarino’s upset of fourth seed Maxime Cressy. In a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory, Mannarino broke the American’s serve in the opening game of both sets but found himself level at 3-3 in the second after dropping serve on the lone break point against him in the 92-minute match.

Now 18-12 on hard courts this season, the Frenchman was playing in his fifth quarter-final of the year and advanced to his second semi-final (‘s-Hertogenbosch). He has beaten three seeds this week, knocking off ninth seed Emil Ruusuvuori and eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the past two rounds.

In the Winston-Salem evening session, Richard Gasquet takes on Laslo Djere before Jack Draper meets Marc-Andrea Huesler.

The US Open revealed Thursday that Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios will play their first-round matches on Monday, while Rafael Nadal will begin his chase for a fifth title at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.

The top half of the men’s singles draw will compete on Monday and the bottom half will play on Tuesday.

Along with Medvedev and Kyrgios, other stars taking the court Monday will include fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, fifth seed Casper Ruud, sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, former World No. 1 Andy Murray and 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

On Tuesday, joining Nadal in action will be third seed Carlos Alcaraz, seventh seed Cameron Norrie, eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz and 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner.

The tournament announced that Monday’s full order of play will be released by 6 p.m. ET on Friday.

View Men’s Singles Draw

There were plenty of intriguing first-round matches when the US Open draw was revealed on Thursday, led by a tantalising clash between close friends Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

ATPTour.com highlights five matches to watch in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.

No. 23 Nick Kyrgios vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis
The ‘Special Ks’ have been one of the most exciting doubles teams on the circuit this season. They started their season off with a bang by winning the Australian Open. At the time, Kokkinakis said: “To be a Grand Slam champion with my boy, we have known each other since we were eight, nine years old, done some serious things together, have had some serious experiences, but this is incredible.”

The Australians often refer to each other as “brothers”, but only one can advance to the second round at Flushing Meadows. Their first-round clash will be their first ATP Head2Head meeting and first match against one another since they competed on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2014.

Kyrgios is one of the world’s most in-form players. The 27-year-old has shown the most consistency of his career to reach the final at Wimbledon, win the Washington title and advance to the quarter-finals in Montreal, where he eliminated World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. However, nobody on Tour knows him better than Kokkinakis, who thrives on the big stages with an aggressive game of his own.

Kokkinakis’ resume includes a win against Roger Federer, and last year he pushed Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets at the Australian Open. That makes for a blockbuster showdown between the great friends.

No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem will have to be sharp for his first match at the US Open since lifting his maiden major trophy at Flushing Meadows two years ago. The Austrian will face 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who recently claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal.

Thiem has struggled to find his best form since returning from a wrist injury in March. He does have one thing on his side, though: a 7-0 ATP Head2Head advantage against Carreno Busta. One of those clashes came at the US Open in 2016, when Thiem rallied for a four-set victory.

Form tilts in the Spaniard’s direction after his Canadian breakthrough, and his solid baseline game will force the Austrian to come up with the spectacular winners he has so often hit throughout his career. Will Thiem be able to rely on their past history to earn a first-round upset?

No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo vs. Andy Murray
One year ago, 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first round in New York against Tsitsipas. The Scot will have another chance to oust a seed in the opening round when he plays 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Murray showed signs of good form in Cincinnati, where he emerged victorious from a two-hour, 58-minute epic against Stan Wawrinka and pushed Cameron Norrie hard in the second round before cramping got the best of him.

But his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Cerundolo should prove tricky. Although the 24-year-old has lost three consecutive matches since reaching the Hamburg semi-finals, the rising Argentine has found success on hard courts before. Earlier this year, he made a stunning run to the Miami semi-finals with wins over stars including Gael Monfils and Jannik Sinner.

No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz vs. Sebastian Baez
Last November, Carlos Alcaraz met Sebastian Baez in the semi-finals of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Alcaraz was World No. 32 and Baez No. 111. Ten months later, both men have come a long way. Alcaraz is the third seed at the US Open and Baez was the last player who did not receive a seed. 

In their first meeting, Alcaraz prevailed in Milan 4-2, 4-1, 4-2. His powerful game is capable of blasting through all opponents. Baez is plenty aggressive himself, though, and he will try to take it to the Spaniard to play on his own terms.

The Argentine is 1-3 against Top 10 opponents, with his victory coming in the Bastad semi-finals against Andrey Rublev. Will Baez be able to earn another big win against Alcaraz?

No. 14 Diego Schwartzman vs. Jack Sock
There are few fans in the world like those in New York at the US Open. Jack Sock, who thrills crowds throughout the world with his flashy play, will try to use that to his advantage against 14th seed Diego Schwartzman.

The pair’s only meeting came in 2017 on clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where Sock prevailed in three sets. Since then, both men have spent time in the world’s Top 10 and have proven their ability against the best players on Tour. Sock will try to dominate the action with his forehand and speed around the court, while Schwartzman has almost no weaknesses and will try to attack the American’s backhand.

Schwartzman is a two-time quarter-finalist at the US Open. The favourite will try to avoid an early exit this edition of the year’s final major.