Rafael Nadal: Resurgent Nadal Ready to Give Djokovic Run for His Money

As hard as it is to believe, Rafael Nadal came into this US Open as something of an underdog. All the talk about Novak Djokovic's historic run had captured the minds of fans and tennis media, leaving Nadal to play second fiddle when it came to storylines heading into the tournament.

With Nadal looking solid in his first two matches in New York, he has changed the narrative surrounding his prospects for winning it all.

Djokovic's vault to the top of the sport isn't the only reason he was overlooked heading into this week. He had also created some doubt with his play throughout the summer.

He didn't play a whole lot in the lead up to the US Open and when he did, the results weren't great. In the Masters 1000 Series tournament in Montreal, Nadal lost to Ivan Dodig. Dodig has played well this year and he found himself seeded in the US Open, but he is not someone you expect to beat Nadal.

In Cincinnati, he lost in straight sets to Mardy Fish. There is certainly no shame in losing to Fish, the No. 8 ranked player in the US Open, but that is someone Nadal has had great success against in the past.

It didn't take long for Nadal to be challenged here in New York. Andrey Golubev, his first-round opponent, went down in straight sets, but he took Nadal to a second-set tiebreaker and fought to make the third set close as well.

Coming off that test, Nadal was certainly looking for a more leisurely win and he got it. Nadal was up 6-2, 6-2 when Nicolas Mahut had to retire thanks to an apparent abdominal injury. Nadal looked sharp in the two sets before the retirement and I'm sure he was glad to get off the court quickly with a win.

Nadal will move on to face David Nalbandian in the third round. Nalbandian is a solid veteran, but injuries have plagued him over the last couple of seasons. Given that, his fitness will be a question. That's not something you want to have hanging over your head as you go into a match against Nadal.

The road to the final weekend of this tournament is wide open for Nadal. The remaining players in his quarter are a pretty mediocre group. Look for Nadal to breeze through and get another shot to prove that he, not Djokovic, is the best player in the world.