United States of Rafa 2011 - Round 2

(Rafa swings into action in the Second Round!)

On Friday, Our Hero, Rafael Nadal, reached the third round of the U.S. Open when Nicolas Mahut retired from the match with an abdominal muscle injury trailing Rafa 6-2, 6-2. Nadal's form was much much better in the second round than it was in his very long 3-set win in the first round. That's a good sign! Unfortunately, because the match was abbreviated, there's not a lot more to take from the match, other than to say I like Nadal's blue shirt that he wore for Round 2 a lot better than the yellow one he wore in Round 1. Stick with the blue, Rafa!

There have already been a record 14 players who quit during singles matches through three rounds of this year’s U.S. Open. That's crazy! The previous record for an entire Grand Slam tournament was 12 at Wimby in 2008. I don't know what the issue is, but it's hard for me to believe ALL of these players couldn't continue. What kind of conditioning are they doing throughout the year that they can't stick it out for 3 sets at the final Grand Slam of 2011? I mean, we're talking less than a week of play. I'm sure there are several legitimate injuries and I'm not a physician to make the call on personal health issues, but FOURTEEN? I think some people need to show a little more heart when they are down in the score and just finish it out.

Luckily Rafa doesn't seem hampered by injury. You know he's gonna give it his all every time he's on the court. He next plays David Nalbandian in the 3rd Round, who can often times prove to be a tricky opponent. I know Nadal can make it to the second week, so I can see him on the practice courts at the Open on Monday! Vamos!