Much has been made about his potential marketability and how he might bring in more casual fans with Roger Federer entering the tail end of his career.
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Serena Williams and 2012 champion Andy Murray will get underway on Tuesday.
Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion, won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and will face Italian veteran Andreas Seppi for a place in the last 32.
Novak Djokovic remained unstoppable as he tore apart his opposition on the way to the Finale.
No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland is a two-time Grand Slam victor searching for his first championship in Queens, where he reached the semifinal past year. Since then the Serb’s performance, by his own lofty standards, is on a downward trend.
With the Rankings in a constant flux, both in the Men’s and Women’s Rankings Table, even those at the highest echelons are not immune to losing their coveted positions heading into the final Slam of the season.
Since winning Wimbledon in July – and tying Graf with 22 grand slam titles – she’s only played a handful of matches.
Williams has held on to her Numero Uno position for 184 consecutive weeks so far. However, that could change in this US Open as Angelique Kerber is a mere 190 points behind the American. Nadal has won all four of their previous matchups, taking 10 of 11 sets.
Williams said her shoulder was starting to feel better, but she was trying to balance the need for rest with the need to practice. It’s been two years since neither reached the men’s final at a Grand Slam – that occurred at the 2014 U.S. Open.
This season, then, would naturally be one of rebuilding for the 28-year-old. She would also pass Chris Evert for the most U.S. Open singles titles with seven. Nadal will be more than determined to banish the ghosts of his First Round exit a year ago at the Flushing Meadows. Other men’s top seeds in action on Day 1 include Milos Raonic (the fifth seed), Marin Cilic (the seventh seed), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (the ninth seed) and Gael Monfils (the 10th seed). The young Canadian proved his mettle by making it to his first ever Grand Slam Final at Wimbledon this year. But can he leverage his stellar play in NY?
Each surged into the tournament in 2015, with Williams on a highly publicized quest to win the Grand Slam, and Djokovic in search of his third major title of the year.
Andy Murray is the only one among the Big Four who has never been at the helm of the Rankings. Makarova believes the time apart not only helped refresh, but also strengthen their connection on the court, and the results bear out that hypothesis with immediate runs to the semifinals of Madrid and finals of Rome and Roland Garros. “This Wimbledon and Olympic gold shows that he is now less pressured and more in control of the mental side of things”. Although the winning streak snapped at the Cincinnati Finals, Murray is brimming with confidence going into the US Open this year.
Serena Williams has been here before.
Novak Djokovic has been affected by issues in his private life and a lingering wrist injury since his shock Third Round exit in Wimbledon.
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The Scot starts his US Open campaign on 30 August, facing world number 82 Lukas Rosol in the first round and has been touted as the favourite to secure his second title at Flushing Meadows, with his main competitors all going through injuries or problems now.
