“RAFA” RAFAEL NADAL CRUISES AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, NOVAK DJOKOVIC UNCONVINCING IN FIRST-ROUND VICTORY BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 30th August 2016

"RAFA" RAFAEL NADAL CRUISES AT THE 2016 U.S. OPEN TENNIS, NOVAK DJOKOVIC UNCONVINCING IN FIRST-ROUND VICTORY BY RICKY DIMON

epa05514591 Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan during their match on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 29 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT |

The Rafael Nadal of the Rio Olympics–not the Rafael Nadal of Cincinnati–was on display during first-round action at the U.S. Open on Monday afternoon. That’s exactly the way his fans wanted it.

Nadal, who won the gold medal in men’s doubles with Marc Lopez and placed fourth in singles despite having not played since the French Open, stormed through his opener in Flushing Meadows with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Denis Istomin in two hours and seven minutes. With such a performance, the Spaniard put to rest any concerns that had arisen when he got crushed by Borna Coric in round three of the Cincinnati Masters two weeks ago.

“After the Olympics, I [felt] destroyed,” Nadal reflected. “But it’s normal, no? (It) was a very important event for me.”

So is this one. Nadal is a two-time champion in New York and he played like it, at least for a while, on Monday. The 30-year-old surrendered only one game in a 33-minute first set and did well to steady the ship after giving back a break in set two. He added another break at 5-4 to clinch the middle frame of play and it was all but over when the 30-year-old delivered a forehand pass to break for 4-2 in the third.

“Normal,” the fourth seed said when asked to assess his performance. Not very good; not very bad. (It) was a good start for me, obviously, winning here in straight sets.”

In the first match of the night session, Novak Djokovic needed four sets to get past Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. In a match between two players who have been struggling physically, albeit to a much different extent, Djokovic got the job done in two hours and 37 minutes.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to Jerzy Janowicz of Poland on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 29 August 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

Janowicz has been invisible on tour this season due to knee and back injuries, so his ability to make it through four sets–even winning one–was a victory of sorts. Aside from capturing a title in Toronto, Djokovic has slumped since the French Open in part due to wrist and arm trouble. The world No. 1 even had the trainer work on his elbow at 3-2 in the first set, but it proved to be nothing more than a precautionary move.

“Hopefully as the tournament progresses, I’ll reach my peak,” Djokovic explained. “It was just prevention. It’s all good.”

“It wasn’t easy today playing against Jerzy for the first time.He’s a very potent player–powerful serve, big forehands. He’s unpredictable really. (To) play well as he did in the second set and (then) he makes a couple of double-faults in a row in the important moments, it’s really up and down. That’s why it wasn’t easy to keep the concentration.”