NEW YORK—Eyes fixed firmly on one object, Rafael Nadal sped past the sideline and leaped into the photo pit in Arthur Ashe Stadium in pursuit. All that activity took place between points, as Nadal dug out the dampener that flew from his string bed and showed some Hawk-Eye-like vision in spotting it beneath a coil of blue cables.
The extreme spin the No. 2 seed imparts on the ball dislodged the dampener and displaced Nicolas Mahut from the draw. Nadal held a 6-2, 6-2 lead when the Frenchman, who took treatment for an abdominal strain after the first set, tapped out of this second-round U.S. Open match after one hour and 21 minutes of play.
"I [strained] my abdominal on Tuesday and Thursday I could not serve; the serve is the key to my game and if I cannot serve, I cannot win," Mahut said.
The 99th-ranked Mahut took the court as one of only three active men with a winning record against Nadal (Nikolay Davydenko, who’s 6-4 against Nadal, and Chris Guccione, who won his lone match with Rafa, are the other two). Mahut earned double break point in the second game, but Nadal swiftly snuffed out the threat, firing a forehand winner down the line to save the first break point (with a piercing "Vamos!") before saving the second on a Mahut error.
Attacking the net relentlessly, the 29-year-old Mahut fought off two break points in the third game but could not withstand Nadal’s baseline assault and cracked on the third break point. The reigning U.S. Open champion quickly consolidated for a 3-1 advantage. Three games later, Mahut made a leaping stab of a high backhand volley, but Nadal swooped forward and lashed a lasso forehand pass to break again for a 5-2 lead. When Mahut, whose normally spiky hair began to deflate from the strain, sweat and stress, netted a return, Nadal had the opening set in 33 minutes.
Mahut has a well-earned reputation as a tennis marathon man after his epic encounter with John Isner at Wimbledon last summer, but for much of this match he looked like a man trying to win a race while running in place: his legs were pumping rapidly but he couldn't gain any ground.
It’s hard to assess Nadal’s level against a wounded opponent who was so desperate to shorten points that he even attacked behind some cross-court approaches. Mahut, whose win over Nadal came on grass at Queen’s Club four years ago, wasn’t exactly impressed with the 10-time Grand Slam champion’s form, though he suggested the muscular Mallorcan will grow more dangerous with each passing round.
"Maybe he doesn’t have as much confidence as he had last year; he doesn’t go for it as much and isn’t as aggressive as he used to be," Mahut said. "With Rafa it’s always the same: the more he wins the more confidence he gets."
—Richard Pagliaro