Nadal the man to beat at US Open

RAFAEL Nadal’s impressive return from a sevenmonth injury layoff with a haul of nine titles has made him a marked man at the US Open.

RAFAEL Nadal’s impressive return from a seven-month injury layoff, with a haul of nine titles including a French Open and an unbeaten 15-match hardcourt run, has made him a marked man at the US Open.

“Nadal is definitely back and he’s playing maybe the best tennis that he ever has played on hard courts,” said world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

“He’s definitely so far the best player this year. There is no question about it. The results are showing everything.”

After healing from the nagging knee injuries that have bothered him for years, Nadal dominated on his beloved clay, with wins at Sao Paulo, Acapulco, Madrid, Rome, Barcelona and Roland Garros for his 12th career Grand Slam crown and eighth French Open title in nine years.

But what has impressed his rivals on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts, where the year’s final Grand Slam event starts today, is his unbeaten run on hardcourts, taking titles at Indian Wells in March, and this month at Montreal and Cincinnati in his US Open tune-ups.

“He has beaten some tough players in tough tournaments,” defending US Open champion Andy Murray said.

“It’s not like he’s had easy draws or whatever. He’s beaten some top, top players.

“Yeah, he’s going to be very difficult to beat here,” Murray said. Nadal, for his part, has played down the performance.

“I had a great summer, but that’s all. Doesn’t mean nothing else,” Nadal said. “I hope to be very competitive for the first match.”

Djokovic sees a more attacking Nadal adapting to the hardcourts to help ease the stress on his knees. “He seems like he changed a little bit. He stepped in a little bit more. He knows that now he has to be a bit more aggressive than he usually is because of, I guess, his knees and everything and because hardcourt is not clay.

“It’s not his favourite surface,” Djokovic said. “It’s faster. I’m sure he worked on that and you could see that all the work he put in is getting results.”

And 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, who could face Nadal for the first time at a US Open in the quarterfinals, has been dazzled by the Spaniard’s performance.

“I’m very impressed, especially seeing him play really well on the quicker hardcourts,” Federer said. “He has had an incredible season so far. So, I mean, it’s super impressive and I hope for him he can keep it up.”

Nadal did not give all the credit to a change in game plan on hardcourts. “I think you can play aggressive when you’re playing well,” he said.

“I am trying to take the ball a little bit early. I worked on my game to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Nadal did sound a warning to the Association of Tennis Professionals, saying that hardcourts would shorten the careers of the game’s top stars.