Rafael Nadal displayed no signs of wrist troubles as he dismissed Denis Istomin 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, in his opening round at the US Open.
Concerns have been raised about Nadal’s fitness levels ahead of the final major of the year following his roller coaster summer, where he has struggled with a damaged tendon in his wrist. At the Cincinnati Masters he crashed out in straight sets of Borna Coric. Regardless of his previous woes, the nine-time French Open champion continued his 100% winning record against Istomin in New York as Nadal found an answer to everything that was asked of him.
The biggest problem for Nadal at the start of the match wasn’t his opponent. It was adjusting to playing on a court that was half covered in darkness. For the first time this year, the Arthur Ashe Arena has a roof and when it is opened shadows can form on the premier court. Despite the dark issue, Nadal showed no signs of fitness concerns or wrist worries as he bullied Istomin around the court by breaking him three consecutive times. After just 33 minutes of play, the Spaniard clinched the opening set with a forehand cross-court winner.
Nadal’s dominance continued beyond the first set as Istomin struggled to remain consistent. An error-stricken service game from the unseeded player enabled Nadal to ease himself to a set and a break lead. Unlike the opening set, Istomin was able to respond after retrieving the break with the help of a drop-shot a few games later. The fight back from the world No.107 failed to materialise as Nadal battled to break once again, thanks to an error from his opponent, to move to a two-set advantage.
Coming under increased pressure from his rival, Nadal survived a ten-minute service game during the early stages of the third set to close in on his 44th match win at Flushing Meadows. A costly double fault from Istomin, his seventh of the match, enable Nadal to once again move away from the Uzbek. He was able to convert the break after a stunning forehand winner down the line. The break was the most substantial of the entire match as Istomin ran out of ways to fight back. After a fraction over the two-hour mark, Nadal sealed the win after a deep shot was returned out by his rival.
“I think I played a solid match a lot of time. When there was a tough moment in the second set, that was a tough one (for me).” Nadal said about his first round performance.
“I think I resisted well, I’m very happy for the victory.”
As the injury cloud still looms over his head, Nadal has admitted that it has been a tough season for him. Nevertheless, but he believes that his misfortunes are no different to that of any other player.
“Injuries are part of everybody’s career.” The 30-year-old said during his on-court interview. “I have had a hard time this year missing Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as Toronto. I have experienced this a couple times in my career and it is not a nice moment.“
“The same is happening to Roger (this year) and I wish him a fast recovery. It’s very tough to see players outside of the tour.” He concluded.
Awaiting Nadal in the second round will be Italy’s Andreas Seppi, who defeated Stephane Robert in four sets. Nadal has defeated Seppi in seven out of their eight previous encounters.
