Nadal Looks Fit in Return to Grand Slam Play Melbourne, Australia — Remember Rafael Nadal? Rugged Spaniard, thick legs, quick on his feet, left-handed, won the French Open nine times, has 14 total Grand Slam singles titles to his name. His demise, once again, seems to have been greatly exaggerated. At the Australian Open Monday, the 28-year-old Nadal advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Mikhail Youzhny. Nadal looked good. Even very good. At the very least, he did not look like a man who was playing just his ninth tennis match since Wimbledon because of injuries. Youzhny, who has beaten Nadal four times in his career, was impressed. “I think his level was pretty high for a first match of a Grand Slam,” Youzhny said. “He will be really dangerous in the second week.” At last year’s Australian Open, Nadal reached the final and was a heavy favorite against Stanislas Wawrinka until his back seized up. Nadal later won the French Open, but lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon and missed the U.S. Open with an ailing wrist. In the fall, he had his appendix removed. After he lost to Michael Berrer, ranked No. 127 in the world, in Doha earlier this month, Nadal had only four wins in his last eight matches since Wimbledon. His prospects for the Australian Open looked dim. Even he said he was not ready to win. Nadal is not ready to change his opinion. “What I say the other day is the real thing,” he said. “I have one match. That’s better than two days ago. But I need more to feel that I am ready for something very important here, no?” Next up for Nadal: American qualifier Tim Smyczek, who advanced to the second round with a 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-4 victory over Australian wild card Luke Saville. “If I am able to win tomorrow, I will have a chance to do better next time,” Nadal said. “That’s always the way that you become better and you become confident: winning. The victory is everything in the sport.” If he wins enough here, he could meet Roger Federer in the semifinals, just like last year.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 11:52:12 +0000
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