The first two rounds have gone according to plan for Rafael Nadal, with the Spaniard marching past his opponents with very little fuss. The 14-time Grand Slam winner will want that trend to continue when he faces Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov in the third round of the US Open 2016.
Nadal came into this US Open with doubts over his fitness still hovering around, despite a solid show at the Rio Olympics, where he went on to win the doubles gold medal and reach the semifinals of the men's singles.
The Spaniard has said a few times the wrist injury has not completely healed and the only way to get back to full fitness is by playing tennis. He certainly has done that quite well over the first two rounds, easing past Denis Istomin in the opening round and Andreas Seppi in the second.
"Every round is important," Nadal said after his straight set win over Seppi on Wednesday. "Every point is important. (It) was a good win. I think first set was unfair because 6-0 was not the right result. Had been lot of chances for both of us in lots of games, so should be much closer.
"I feel that I played little bit more aggressive than the first round. I feel myself better than in the first round. That's always a positive thing, feel you are improving a little bit during the event. That's the way I need to keep improving."
If Nadal keeps improving, he will go into that the "title is his for the taking bracket" but the next step towards doing that is beating Kuznetsov, who is ranked 47 in the world, much in the manner he has in the first two rounds.
"Next round is very tough opponent," Nadal added. "I know him well. I played him this year I think at the beginning of the season in Doha. He's aggressive player. He has lots of big shots from the baseline and he's very dangerous. I need to improve, playing longer, playing higher, changing speeds, changing the rhythm of the ball with the slice, and then every time I need to hit more forehands winner."
Where to Watch Live
Nadal vs Kuznetsov is set to begin at 7 p.m. local time (12 a.m. BST, 4.30 a.m. IST next day). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Ten 1 and Ten 1 HD. Live Streaming: Tensports live.
US: TV: ESPN. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Europe: TV: EuroSport. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.
Canada: TV: TSN. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
China: TV: CCTV.
Japan: TV: Wowow TV.
International: Live Streaming: US Open website.
