Rafael Nadal's Early Success at Rogers Cup Is Good Sign Heading into U.S. Open

We have not seen too much of Rafael Nadal in the past few months, but there is reason to be excited about the rest of his season.

After missing the start of the year with a knee injury, Nadal came back with a vengeance as he dominated the clay portion of the season. In the course of about three months, the Spanish star won seven titles and built up a 43-2 record, capped with an eighth-career French Open victory at Roland Garros.

Unfortunately, this is where the year slowed down. He did not compete in a single event on other surfaces until Wimbledon and was immediately bounced by Steve Darcis in the first round.

While his opponent was excellent in the upset, it was also clear that Nadal was uncomfortable on the grass court after playing so long on clay. He was unable to make his cuts during rallies and his serve was not as good as the rest of the field.

This poor performance should serve as a wake-up call for Rafa. He must get acclimated with a surface before simply jumping into one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

That is exactly what he is doing at the Rogers Cup, a hard-court event that takes place a few weeks before the final Grand Slam of the year: the U.S. Open. It is important to get used to playing on the surface as he prepares for the bigger stage.

So far, things are going extremely well for the superstar. After a first-round bye, Nadal had an easy 6-2, 6-0 victory over Jesse Levine. He then defeated Jerzy Janowicz in straight sets, a player ranked No. 18 in the world.

In the latest victory, Nadal's serve was excellent: he got 71 percent of first serves in play and won 65.3 percent of his points. He also hit six aces and had only one double fault.

He was also as good as ever on his returns, giving Janowicz little chance, especially in the second set. If he continues to play this well, he certainly has a chance of winning this tournament.

Of course, it is vital for Nadal to continue this level of play for the rest of the week. The Rogers Cup has a loaded field and players such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will not go down without a serious challenge.

Still, this early success is definitely encouraging. He is showing that he is capable of winning on other surfaces besides clay, something he has not done a lot of this year.

Even if Nadal is unable to make a deep run in this tournament, the early success should be enough to give him plenty of confidence heading into the U.S. Open and the rest of the hard-court season.

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