Nadal ready for US Open defence

Rafael Nadal looked back on one of the biggest moments of his career as he prepared to launch the defence of his US Open title at Flushing Meadows.

The Spaniard had never previously reached the final in New York but he seized his chance at the first opportunity last year, beating Novak Djokovic to complete his set of grand slams.
It also capped by far the best season of his career as he won three grand slams in a row and established himself as the undisputed world number one.
Twelve months on the situation is different again, with Djokovic now the man going for three slams in one season in an incredible year during which he has lost only two of 59 matches and beaten Nadal in five finals.
The Spaniard has his work cut out if he is to repeat his heroics of last year, and his form on the US hard courts suggests it will be a struggle, but returning to Flushing Meadows has provided him with a much-needed boost.
Nadal said: "The emotions probably are a little bit different, because when you come back after the victory of last year the emotions are higher.
"Of course, it was the last grand slam for me to complete all four. It was a very, very nice moment of my career, one of the biggest moments of my career. That makes coming back a little more special.
"But if we talk about the goal, it is the same; to play well, to try to get to the final rounds. That's the same. I don't feel extra pressure. I am happy about how I did. I didn't play very well during the summer, but I am practising much better here."
Nadal lost in the second round in Montreal and the quarter-finals in Cincinnati, but in the latter he was hampered by burnt fingers he sustained on a trip to a Japanese restaurant, which he says are now healed enough to allow him to practise fully.
The man who beat him in Cincinnati was the ATP World Tour's in-form player, Mardy Fish, who arrives at the US Open as the highest-seeded American for the first time.
The 29-year-old has climbed to eighth in the world rankings on the back of a run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and a superb US hard-court stretch, comprising a title in Atlanta, finals in Los Angeles and Montreal and a semi-final in Cincinnati.
Fish said: "It's a significant difference for me. It's just great. This is probably one of the biggest events that I'll ever play, just being in this position right now and coming in playing extremely well.
"Winning the US Open Series and coming in on a high and playing great the last two events. And then also having that week to prepare and rest.
"It was great to get away from everything, and then I got back in here Tuesday and started grinding again. I'm super excited to start.
"It's one of those where a lot of times you want to work your way into the tournament. I want to play Monday. I want to get out there and start, start the whole process of it, because it's exciting for me."
Fish has got his wish and he will take on German Tobias Kamke in the second match on Arthur Ashe on Sunday, providing the tournament is able to start as scheduled following Hurricane Irene.
The American, who puts his rise down to improvements in his mental and physical fitness, currently looks the best placed to get among the top four, and he is confident he can take the fight to Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
Asked how his level compares, he added: "Right now I think it's up there. I expect to see myself in the second Saturday of the US Open because I've never done that before.
"I've been close once, but I'd like to get there now. I'd really like to get there now, because I really feel like I can belong there.
"I can get there. I can get to a really big spot in a grand slam. And, if I were to pick a tournament, a grand slam that I could do that in, it would be this one."
Federer is also in action on Sunday, taking on Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in the night session on Arthur Ashe, while seventh seed Gael Monfils meets rising star Grigor Dimitrov.