Nadal backed for US glory
LEGEND John McEnroe believes Rafael Nadal is ready to complete a career Grand Slam by scooping his first US Open.
Nadal claimed his second Wimbledon title on Sunday, to add to his one Australian Open title and five triumphs at the French Open.
He is yet to reign at Flushing Meadows, but having recovered from a serious injury to regain his No1 world ranking, McEnroe reckons this could be his year.
“Nadal wants to win the US Open so badly. It would be hard not to pick him at this time even though he’s never won it,” said the American, who won the tournament four times.
“The guy is just an animal. He’s mentally and physically incredible and he can definitely do it if he’s in this shape. The conditions in New York don’t suit Nadal so well and he needs to make his body hold up. So I think after Wimbledon he is going to take some time off and get his knees recovered and then maybe not play too many matches before the Open.”
McEnroe also expects Andy Murray to build on his encouraging Wimbledon by flourishing at Flushing Meadows, where the action gets underway next month.
“I thought it was a little soon for Murray at Wimbledon because he hasn’t been playing with much confidence this year, but he likes the hard courts a lot better so he’ll be playing well at the US Open,” he added. “Murray played well at Wimbledon. I feel like he did a lot of good things in his match against Nadal and it’s just a couple of points here and there, like the one at 6-5 in the tie break.”
Meanwhile, Roger Federer has slipped out of the top two for the first time since November 2003.