All the talk of a two-man battle for the US Open title might just be premature after Rafael Nadal announced his return to grand slam tennis last night in emphatic fashion.
Having pulled out during the French Open with a left wrist injury that forced him to miss Wimbledon, Nadal reached the semi-finals at the Olympics and, on the evidence of last night’s 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, he is back.
“I am very happy for the victory,” Nadal said. “Denis is always a dangerous player so really happy to be through.”
“The most important thing is I am here in New York and that makes me happy. Injuries are part of the career, I have had a hard time this year but my wrist is improving.”
Performing at the highest level in seven best-of-five set matches – which he will need to do if he is to win the title – might be a bit of a stretch but no one will take him lightly, even if he continues to say that he is feeling a little pain in his wrist.
The important thing for Nadal, champion in 2010 and 2013, is that the pain is receding slightly every day and against Istomin, he looked solid as he romped into the second round in the kind of blisteringly hot conditions he loves.
Istomin battled back from a break down to level at 4-4 in the second set and pushed for another break but Nadal shut down the danger, closed out the set and then cruised through the third.
The progression of Kyle Edmund took a big step forward yesterday as the 21-year-old upset 13th seed Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 with a performance full of maturity.
Gasquet had struggled with a bad back in the build-up to the tournament but Edmund played superbly for his best win, in ranking terms, on what was his US Open debut, setting up a clash with the American wildcard Ernesto Escebedo.
Women's No 2 Angelique Kerber, who could overtake Serena Williams as the top this fortnight, eased through when her opponent, Polona Hercog, withdrew through sickness when trailing 6-1, 1-0.
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