Rafael Nadal had a fantastic start to his US Open campaign. The Spanish no.1 defeated Denis Istomin 6-1 6-4 6-2 without struggling too much.
After winning nine consecutive games at the beginning of the match (from 0-1 to 6-1 3-0), Rafa lost his service in the 7th game of the 2nd set (4-3). Nadal didn’t lose his composure to win the decisive break of the second set in the 10th game (6-4). The third set was business as usual for Nadal that won 4 consecutive games (from 2-2 to 6-2) to wrap up the match after 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Why being nervous is good. NADAL
Rafa admitted he was a bit nervous, but he considered that to be a good thing
“If you are not nervous a little bit it’s time to say goodbye. That’s the real thing,” Nadal commented. “You need to be nervous. That’s part of the competition.
If you don’t feel that, then it’s because you really don’t want to win as much as you need, or you are not afraid about the loss. When you don’t have those feelings, it’s because you don’t have enough motivation for what you are doing.”
Next vs. Seppi
Rafa will play Seppi in the second round. The head to head is 7-1 for Nadal.
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| THE DRAW |
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| STEADY |
