By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 29, 2016
Rafael Nadal reeled off 10 of the first 12 games dismissing Denis Istomin, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, to set up a US Open second-round clash with Andreas Seppi.
Photo credit: Getty
NEW YORK—Darting to his left, Rafael Nadal drilled a forehand winner down the line breaking with a flourish for a 4-2 third-set lead and celebrating with a fist pump.
Last week, Nadal made history starring as the first player to hit on Arthur Ashe Stadium with the new retractable roof closed last week—a moment he recorded for posterity with video.
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Today, Nadal played director displacing Denis Istomin from the big picture.
Reeling off 10 of the first 12 games, Nadal rolled to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory to reach the US Open second round for the 12th time.
Asked to assess his performance, a smiling Nadal called it "normal."
"Not very good, not very bad," Nadal said. "It was a good start for me winning in straight sets. I had been dominating the match after 6-1, 4-1. I think in that game I could have had the second break of second set and go up 5-1. Then the second set was tougher and then he had some chances in the 4-all (game). Happy I finally saved that game and had the break in next one.
"In the third I think I finished playing well. Last couple of games I played a little more aggressive with my forehand. I feel that I was changing a little bit, you know, playing a little bit longer the cross shot, and then changing down the line, like last point. It was positive one."
While Nadal showed flashes from the forehand, he says his signature shot needs more work.
"My serve worked well almost all the time," Nadal said. "I am hitting very well the backhand, but it's true that the forehand I need time. I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand, no?"
It was Nadal's first Grand Slam match victory since he swept Facundo Bagnis in the Roland Garros second round last May. After enduring a 73-day sabbatical from the sport to nurse a tendon issue in his left wrist, Nadal competed with urgency and overcame an uneven second set to wrap up a two hour, seven-minute victory.
"I need to recover the normal movement with the forehand," Nadal said. "Even if I played very well in Rio, you know, when you have pain you try to change the movement to avoid a little bit that pain no? So I need to find again the normal movement. But I am in the way."
Despite the lopsided scoreline, it wasn't entirely a vintage Nadal performance.
The two-time US Open champion grew tentative at times on his forehand late in the second set. Istomin pounced on the lapse, stringing together three consecutive games to level.
Still, Nadal quickly recovered and regained command. He drew the error to break sealing the 51-minute second set.
The 107th-ranked Istomin carried a 0-4 record against Nadal onto Arthur Ashe Stadium and hurt his own cause littering 39 errors, including seven double faults.
Though Nadal wasn't always driving his forehand with damaging intent in the second set, he consistently punished Istomin's second serve, winning 20 of 30 points played on the second delivery and converting seven of 12 break points.
On a day in which 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic breezed into round two with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 sweep of Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva, Nadal looked eager, moved fluidly and permitted just eight points on his first serve.
That stinging forehand strike gave Nadal a 4-2 third-set lead and he never looked back closing with a four-game surge.
Unwrapping the adhesive tape that surrounds his left wrist before he left the court, Nadal said he feels his wrist is growing stronger, but knows there will be stress tests ahead.
"The most important thing is I'm here in New York and that makes me feel happy," said Nadal, who raised his 2016 hard-court record to 14-7. "Injuries are part of the career of everybody.
"I had a hard time this year missing Roland Garros and Wimbledon and Toronto. I experienced (injury layoffs) a few times in my career... My wrist is improving and that's important too."
The fourth-seeded Nadal will play Andreas Seppi in the second round. The Italian veteran dispatched Frenchman Stephane Robert, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Nadal has won seven of eight meetings with Seppi, including a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the Rio Olympic Games earlier this month.