Under the lights in New York, Denis Istomin gave the number one ranked player in the world all he could handle.
But, as the top seeded player should, Nadal responded and showed his competitors exactly why he was pegged as a favorite coming into the US Open.
Nadal’s improved serve was the highlight of his first round match and that continued tonight. Not only did he hit an ace that was clocked at 134 mph, but he had 8 aces and won 83% of the points on his first serve.
Though he lost in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5, Denis Istomin gained thousands of new fans in New York after the display he put on against Nadal. Istomin came into the US Open at his career-high ranking of 39th in the world, which was boosted after making the final one week ago in New Haven. Istomin was able to keep-up with Nadal during long rallies at times and a few of his shots were so good that Nadal’s only response was a friendly applause.
The fans that had packed Arthur Ashe Stadium roared when Istomin had chances to take hold of the match, but Nadal showed them and Istomin why he is the top ranked player in the world. He clawed back in the second set tiebreak after being down 5-1 and when Istomin had break point chances, Nadal rose to the challenge to save the points.
Near the end of the third set, Istomin was clearly suffering physically and just like many of Nadal’s former opponents, he had been worn down. It took 2 hrs and 44 minutes, but the Spaniard got the job done.
His next match will be the Frenchman Gilles Simon, who was formerly ranked in the top 10 in the world.
