Despite an illustrious career that features three US Open titles, Rafael Nadal could break new territory in New York this year.
Known as the king of clay, the world No.1 will be bidding to successfully defend a grand slam title outside of the French Open for the first time in his career. Nadal has dominated Roland Garros in recent years with a record 11 titles, but that level of consistency has eluded him at the other majors. Illustrated by his US Open triumphs that occurred in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
“Last year has been a very special year after a couple of years,” Nadal told reporters at the US Open media Day on Friday. “2015 was not a positive year in terms of level of tennis, 2016 I was playing good tennis but I got injured.
“Had the chance to get back in 2017. Of course I won on clay, but then to win on hard again is something that means a lot to me, especially here in New York.”
Embarking upon his 14th main draw appearance in Flushing Meadows, the Spaniard is optimistic about his title chances. Earlier this month he dropped only one set on route to the Rogers Cup title in Canada. Defeating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. It was following that win, he decided to skip the Cincinnati Masters. A decision he maintains was the right thing to do.
“I was resting from competing, not resting from working,” he explained.
“The last couple of days (before the tournament) is the moment to understand, that you really realize if you are better, you are worse – when you start to put the full mind on what you’re doing.”
Nadal will start his bid for grand slam title No.18 on Monday. In the first round, he will play compatriot David Ferrer in a night session on the Arthur Ashe stadium. The Spaniard currently leads Ferrer 24-6 in their head-to-head. Although this will be their first meeting since the 2015 ATP World Tour finals.
“Being honest, I always had a great connection with the crowd here (in New York). The crowd brings me to another level of energy. That’s something that I enjoy.” Nadal said.
So far this season, Nadal has won five titles. More than any other singles player on the ATP World Tour. In total he has won 40 out of 43 matches played. His only loses of 2018 so far has been against Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic (via retirement).
