The No. 3 seed, who is Rafael Nadal, is going to be partaking in one of the most anticipated matches to date so far this year during the U.S. Open, when he is going to take on Gael Monfils during the round of 16.

We are talking about a six time grand slam champion who is going to be in tough against who we lovingly refer to as the flying Frenchman. Nadal has been working on nursing a recent pull in his abdomen which he just recently sustained while he was playing against Nicolas Almagro. His lack of match play is seeming to have a negative effect on his game right now.

Monfils has managed to make it quietly into his second straight round in New York. This Frenchman has made it all the way to the fourth round if not better for three out of the last four majors during this year. He was unfortunately forced to withdraw out of the Wimbledon tournament earlier this year because he was dealing with ongoing inflammation in one of his knees that was impacting his play in a bad way.

Monfils did manage to grab a first ever win against Nadal earlier this year in Qatar. Then Nadal then went on to return the favor about a month later when he took a straight set win over Monfils in Rotterdam.

Is Nadal's 4-1 head to head lead against Monfils going to be enough to give the Spaniard an edge that he needs during this suspect and dire times? We think so!

Nadal is absolutely notorious when it comes to keeping things as simple as they possibly can be on the court. He is truly great when it comes to improvising when it is absolutely needed. Still, the core behind his game is going to reside in doing the absolute bare minimum and still managing to achieve the absolute best possible results.

If the job is going to require for Nadal to hit exclusively to the backhand of his opponent, then he will absolutely do just that. If the task at hand is going to be for him to slice the backhand three times for every point, then that is the tactic that he is going to stick with.

There are certainly plenty of recent examples of the diligent work that Nadal is known for including his recent win over Federer in Australia, and the wind victory that he took over Andy Murray when they were playing in Indian Wells. Nadal has been playing well within his capabilities during both of these encounters, and he simply managed to deal with the conditions much better than either of his opponents were able to.

This match is certainly going to be one that is well worth watching.

Photo credits: alanpixx

Related Posts

• Federer Wins BNP Paribas Open Roger Federer defeated Victor Hanescu in round 2 of the BNP Paribas Open last weekend in Indian Wells, California. They finished 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, with Hanescu offering much more challenge for Federer in the middle of the match and fading pretty quickly in the end. Hanescu, a Swiss......
• Sam Querry Manages to Defeat Carsten Ball During Final Querry has managed to win a second title on the ATP Tour, and now he is saying that he also plans to come back next year for the same tournament. At least next year during the LA Tennis Open's draw, the defending champion is going to be present. Sam Querrey......
• Rafael Nadal Lives Up to Expectations, Takes Win in Madrid The top seed, Rafael Nadal, lit up the second day of the Madrid Masters on the second day by overcoming Latvia's Ernests Gulbis with 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, allowing him to move on to the third round. With a total of eight titles so far this season, including Wimbledon, Paris and......
• Wimbledon Opens with an Explosive Charge from Big Names Venus Williams was able to return to the grass courts at Wimbledon this year to take her rightful place in the group which will move on to the next round. She is a five time champion and was expected to do well in the first set against a bevy of......
• Recap US Open Day 13 & 14 Rafael Nadal is going up against Juan Martin del Potro this Sunday. Playing against Juan Martin del Potro is sort of like swimming up the stream because no matter how quickly you're paddling, there is always a feeling of certain inevitability that is going in the opposite direction, and this......

Related Websites

• Playing Bass Guitar in a Band People choose one instrument over another, like a bass guitar over a regular guitar, for a variety of different reasons. What makes someone choose a tuba over a flute or drums over a glockenspiel is mostly just the person's preference.  People choose what they like to listen to, what they......
• Golf Etiquette 101 Courtesy and Common Sense in Golf 1 - Golf is a sport that is difficult enough without there being any distractions. When somebody is playing a stroke, you need to stand behind them and slightly toward the right so you are out of their eye-line so they can focus on......
• Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands This week in golf was relatively slow, following the incredible finish of last week’s U.S Open. This week’s tournament was the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. The tournament featured some big names, including Bubba Watson, Scott Verplank, Rickie Fowler, Ricky Barnes, Vijay Singh, Justin Rose, Padraig......
• Turning Stone's Fourth Round Wrap Up It's been a pretty long time since we saw Matt Kuchar winning anything during the PGA Tour. It is because of this that we are not surprised he had a serious case of nerves when he ended up in a sudden death playoff during the fourth round of the Turning......
• The LPGA Tour Championship The LPGA Tour Championship has had a little trouble, but it's not because of the players. Rain and darkness have delayed some play and cut some play short. On both Friday and Saturday, downpours caused tournament officials to decide cut the play down to 54 holes. On Sunday, the ground......

Online Stores

• Round Cushions & Pads Benches, Chairs & Lounges Patio & Garden Furniture Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Goose Game Calls Hunting
• Corona Pole Head Loppers, Pruners & Snips Garden Tools & Equipment Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
• Game Calls Hunting
• Tokens: Hard Times Exonumia Coins & Paper Money

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.



Categories:

News, Tennis, Tournaments and Championships

Tags:

abdomen, backhand, bare minimum, flying frenchman, grand slam champion, inflammation, knees, majors, match play, monfils, nicolas almagro, opponent, qatar, rafael nadal, rotterdam, spaniard, tactic, three times, wimbledon, wimbledon tournament