Tennis Update: Nadal elated with second round win at US Open
The King of Clay Rafael Nadal regarded as one of the greatest players to have graced the game has expressed joy after getting through a tough second round match against his Uzbek rival Denis Istomin that keeps his on-course for a first ever win at the US Open grand slam event.
The top ranked and top seeded player in the tournament trailed 5-1 in the second-set decider, when Istomin delivered a spectacular point that saw him deliver a long skid mark and finished with his legs split after a dash to hit a winner off a delicate drop shot from a bemused Nadal.
"He played a great point. I had to win that point three times before. But he did well. Finally he as fast going for the drop shot and he pass me, no? Just was a tough point for me, because 4-2 or 5-1 going to the other place, the other side, is easy for the wind, but is hard for me," Nadal spoke at the end of the match.
He added that he tried to maintain his composure through out the match especially in the second set after conceding lead in the tie-break.
"But I think I stayed very well mentally in that moment. I was playing with big calm and big concentration. And finally, I was a little bit lucky, for sure. Is impossible to come back from 5-1. I had a little bit lucky. But the concentration, I had a good point. It was very important moment of the match," he said.
The 24 year old Nadal added that he was keyed up for a win in the only grand slam that has eluded him thus far in his glittering career.
"I going [to] say what I think, seriously: I don't think about winning this tournament now. So probably the pressure is going to be there any day if I am in the final. But before that remains too much to have the pressure to win. I have the pressure, like every Grand Slam." the Spaniard said.
"Maybe in the moment I think about the win here and complete the four Grand Slams, maybe, yes, is pressure. But seriously, for me I think about point by point, and winning next match. So right now I am very happy to win today and think about [Gilles] Simon."
During the second round match, the two players displayed a slew of exciting rallies that included blistering serves. The duo also displayed some scintillating rallies in the match that captured the imagination of the audience who had packed in their numbers at the Arthur Ashe stadium.
The Spaniard was at his belligerent best producing some speedy serves that reached 134 miles per hour (216 kph).
Nadal produced eight aces in the entire match hitting back at the critics who have long claimed that does not possess a potent serve.
"That's pretty strange, because I wasn't serving very well the previous days. I started to serve well one or two days before the competition. But the week of practice, I wasn't serving really well, no? I changed a little bit the grip, like five or six days ago, because I felt when I played against the wind I didn't have free points. So I needed that, no?" said Nadal, who didn't lose serve in notching his 16th grand slam match win in a row.
"So I tried to play the serve a little bit more aggressive. For the moment, it's working really well, so I going to try keep playing like this, and sure, serve like this is a big confidence on my game."
Tags: