It may be because it is New York and so many people have full schedules; in any case, prior to his first match, Rafa was very busy with off-court activities.

On Wednesday night in the week before the Open (August 25th), Rafa participated in Nike's Prime Time Knockout Event at New York's Pier 54 along with John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, some other tennis players, and various models and celebrities that couldn't really play tennis.


It was open to the public and was supposed to be viewable via a livestream, but technical difficulties made it very frustrating - and then impossible - to watch. Despite the seemingly constant drizzle and ineptitude of his model/partner, Rafa remained upbeat and cheerful throughout the proceedings.


From all accounts, the kids and spectators enjoyed themselves.

How thrilled does the little girl look to have Rafa leaning on her?

Saturday, August 28th, was Arthur Ashe Kids Day, with all sorts of entertainment and activities for children. One of the activities in which Rafa participated was a contest to earn money for Fundacion Rafa Nadal.

Rafa seemed a little surprised that he got the biggest cheer from the crowd when he walked out. And is it my imagination, or does Kim Clijsters always manage to stand near Rafa?


During the Cincinnati Masters Tournament, Rafa had been interviewed by John Berman for a segment of Nightline, called "Tennis Hot Shot." This was televised on Monday, August 30th, the first day of the US Open. To those not familiar with this program, it is a well-respected news magazine in the US. The interview showcased Rafa's continually-improving English, his level-headedness - and his sense of humor. After Berman repeatedly asked Rafa if he realized that he was a sex symbol to many, Rafa joked, "You like me?"

In between the promotional events, interviews, press conferences, blogs and Q&As for Times Online and El Mundo, and updating his Facebook page, Rafa found time to practice, and play three matches.

Round 1 - Defeated Teimuras Gabashvili in straight sets, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-3.

Gabashvili is a hard-serving, hard-hitting player, who redlined his game and played very, very well. Rafa, however, introduced his 130+ mph serve during this match and his average serve speed thoughout was 7 mph higher than Gabashvili's.


As the scoreline suggests, the match was very close; Gabashvili seemed to be hitting every ball as hard as he could and going for his shots. After Rafa won the first set tiebreak, he asked the umpire for what turned out to be a pair of scissors - to cut away some of the tape from the bottom of his left foot. (You may imagine the flurry this caused in the Cheering thread.)


Thankfully, the trimming served its purpose as Rafa's movement for the rest of the match did not seem to be hampered.



Thanks to a number of VBers on the ground at the USO, we got to see just how intensely Rafa practices and how much effort he exerts.



Round 2 - Defeated Denis Istomin in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5.

Istomin was another hard-serving, go-for-broke player. This match was filled with wonderful tennis, and notable for the kindness of Hurricane Earl in veering away from the coast and letting Rafa's match proceed uninterrupted, Rafa's 133 and 134 mph serves, amazing come-from-behind (from 1-5 down) performance in the second-set tiebreak, and, in the US, Serena Williams' commentary during the first set along with the brothers McEnroe.



Rafa mentioned later that he had made a small change to his serving grip. However he did it, we were as pleased with the results as he appeared to be.



Round 3 - Defeated Gilles Simon in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

This was Rafa's first day match and most straightforward win of the tournament so far. He continued to serve impressively, hitting a top speed of 133 mph. As expected, there were more long rallies than in his previous two matches, and Rafa made some incredible gets.


He seemed very pleased to be through to the fourth round.

Good luck in Week 2, Rafa!
We'll be with you all the way.