Rafael Nadal looked back on one of the biggest moments of his career as he prepared to launch the defence of his US Open title at Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard had never previously reached the final in New York but he seized his chance at the first opportunity last year, beating Novak Djokovic to complete his set of grand slams. It also capped by far the best season of his career as he won three grand slams in a row and established himself as the undisputed world number one. Twelve months on the situation is different again, with Djokovic now the man going for three slams in one season in an incredible year during which he has lost only two of 59 matches and beaten Nadal in five finals. The Spaniard has his work cut out if he is to repeat his heroics of last year, and his form on the US hard courts suggests it will be a struggle, but returning to Flushing Meadows has provided him with a much-needed boost. “The emotions probably are a little bit different, because when you come back after the victory of last year the emotions are higher. “Of course, it was the last grand slam for me to complete all four. It was a very, very nice moment of my career, one of the biggest moments of my career. That makes coming back a little more special. “But if we talk about the goal, it is the same; to play well, to try to get to the final rounds. That’s the same. I don’t feel extra pressure. I am happy about how I did. I didn’t play very well during the summer, but I am practising much better here.”
Nadal lost in the second round in Montreal and the quarter-finals in Cincinnati, but in the latter he was hampered by burnt fingers he sustained on a trip to a Japanese restaurant, which he says are now healed enough to allow him to practise fully. The man who beat him in Cincinnati was the ATP World Tour’s in-form player, Mardy Fish, who arrives at the US Open as the highest-seeded American for the first time.
