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Nadal puts on show
By JANE MCMANUS
August 30th, 2005
NEW YORK � In a flame-colored T-shirt that conformed to his muscles like a second skin, it was easy to imagine Rafael Nadal as one Spaniard who had hit upon the fountain of youth. The 19-year-old scampered over the court without regard to ankles and knees, his long hair damp with sweat in the swampy afternoon.
Nadal has been known to accumulate serious mileage, and at times has gone through a pair of sneakers every match. Recently, however, he has been able to lengthen that life span through judicious choices in footwear.
"Normally I am running a lot on the court," Nadal said with that guileless Majorcan smile bright enough to be used in travel brochures. "But with this shoes, is very good shoes."
Nadal may have beaten American Bobby Reynolds in straight sets yesterday, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, but the second-seeded player wasn't happy with his performance in the first round of the U.S. Open at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow.
It was not the commanding win the French Open champion has proven capable of this summer, and Nadal seemed at times to guess wrong on the forehands Reynolds would hammer at him.
"(Reynolds) was hitting, going for broke on every shot," a translator said on Nadal's behalf.
Moreover, Nadal wasn't happy with his outfit. The sleeveless red shirt and calf-length black pants will not return when he takes on Scoville Jenkins in the second round. Instead he will go with a blue shirt and white clamdiggers, which would blend in nicely with the backdrop of his island home.
He might not have been the first to go with a sleeveless shirt, but it is easy to see why he should. Nadal's arms are intimidatingly sculpted and bronzed, but he swears with all the earnestness of youth that he doesn't work out all that much. The build has been honed, he says, through nearly constant tournament play.
Now with two or three days off, Nadal said he does not plan to relax in New York.
"My best fun is improve, is improve my game in these two days," he said, again with that smile. "If I improve, I enjoy a lot New York."
It was a first look at Nadal for most New Yorkers � on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, no less, while defending women's champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was bumped to the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium.
It was easy to like his passionate style of play. Growing up on clay courts, Nadal digs for balls even on the hardcourts. With that relentless energy, he has won nine titles and $3,305,551 this year alone, going 65-9 in the process.
He was the sixth youngest Grand Slam winner, and he has shot up in the rankings. It is an auspicious beginning, hearkening comparisons to other prodigies such as Andre Agassi and Boris Becker.
Most impressive, he has beaten the top players in the game right now. There was a win over a resurgent Agassi in the final at Montreal, in addition to beating Roger Federer in four sets at the French Open.
It hasn't all been easy, with awkward losses as well, most recently in Cincinnati to Tomas Berdych. In his first two U.S. Open appearances, Nadal lost in the second round.
There is no scrutiny like in New York, and after his first-round win, it was Nadal's turn in front of the U.S. Open press corps. He listened to questions with one formidable eyebrow raised, and seemed a little self-conscious with the rolled R's in his English.
His good nature was evident, however, and he will learn the language and routine much as past U.S. Open media darlings Marat Safin, Elena Dementieva and Gustavo Kuerten did.
He might, however, want to be wary of that last name. Kuerten, the two-time French Open winner, could never get the right feel for New York, and lost in the first round as the second seed in 2000.v
Nadal has cleared the first-round hurdle. It remains to be seen if he can make the blue courts of New York seem a little more like the red clay at Roland Garros
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