Rafael Nadal has not had a good Grand Slam year in the singles arena, losing in the first round of the Australian Open. The Spaniard withdrew from the third round of the French Open due to wrist injury, and did not feature in Wimbledon. The former world number one though will be keen to have a strong US Open, where he will meet Italian Andreas Sippi in the second round.
Nadal looked in complete control in his first round match against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin as the Spaniard clinched the match in straight sets, score reading 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. The fourth seed showed some flashes of brilliance against the Uzbek player, and the crowd appreciated his performance on the opening day. Nadal was pleased with the win.
"I think I played -- was a good start for me obviously winning here in straight sets. I have been dominating the match comfortable after 6-1, 4-1, and I think in that game I could have the second break in the second set, no, and go 5-1.Didn't happen. And then the second set was tougher, no? Was tough at the end," US Open's official website quoted Nadal as saying.
Though he might have defeated Istomin, Sippi is a tough nut to crack, and Nadal has to be on top of his game in the second round. The Italian might have only defeated Nadal once in his career, Sippi has the game to stun the world number five, but he needs to improve on his first round performance where he dropped a set as well.
Sippi set up a date against Nadal after emerging victorious in the first round, defeating Stephane Robert. He won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Nadal will be considered as favourite to progress into the next round of the competition, and one hopes to see a confident baseline game from the Spaniard, who was out of action for some time due to wrist injury.
"I am hitting very well the backhand, but it's true that the forehand I need time. I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand, no?," Nadal said.
"Is not easy to go two months-and-a-half out of competition in the middle of the season without hitting a forehand. I need to have the confidence again with my wrist. That is coming, because I feel the wrist much better, and every day feel that the wrist a little bit better. That's very important thing for me. By the way, the most important thing."
Where to watch live
Rafael Nadal vs Andreas Sippi is the second match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The first match starts at at 7 p.m. local time (4.30 a.m. IST next day). Below is the live streaming and TV information for US Open 2016.
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: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
China: TV: CCTV.
Japan: TV: Wowow TV.
International: Live Streaming: US Open website.
