It was the waning stages of the third set when 17-year-old Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal suddenly bounced out at the U.S. Open.

Swiftly sidestepping to his right, Nadal raised his racquet above his head and slammed an emphatic overhead with such force the ball bounced over the fence, bounded around the trees, circled the sneakers of some fans before settling softly beneath one of the tables at the Heineken Red Star Caf� adjacent to court seven.

Nadal�s talent is so striking even the confines of the court can�t contain it. Some fans seeking cold refreshments on the hottest day of the tournament followed the bouncing ball to the adjacent court to savor the refreshing play pouring from Nadal.

Playing his first match in three weeks, Nadal made a some new fans and lasting impression in his U.S. Open debut, crushing compatriot Fernando Vicente, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Eagerly bouncing around the court with the energy of a school kid enjoying his first day of summer vacation, Nadal looked fit and played fast. In fact, about the only thing task he doesn�t do quickly is answer questions. Carefully considering questions from the media after his win, Nadal softly supplied his answers to a translator.

"My goal is to play match by match," Nadal said. "I�ve been three weeks without competing (so) I was coming into this match with a lack of matches. I�m just looking foreward to every match."

In his brief professional career, Nadal has already climbed to No. 45 in the ATP Entry System rankings and today he showed the skills that made his mentor, seventh-seeded Carlos Moya, predicted Nadal will soon gain a prominent place in the top 10.

The lefthanded Nadal generates remarkable racquet-head speed on his powerful forehand that he can flatten out or hit with topspin. Crouching low to hit his two-handed backhand, Nadal turns his hips and shoulders into that shot and tends to hit it flatter than his forehand. He has fast feet and showed soft hands with several stab volleys. While he lacks the experience, Nadal already possesses more court sense and savvy than many players a decade older. Unlike some pros who learned to play on red clay, but never fully adapt their games to the faster surfaces, Nadal�s adjustments were apparent from the first game. He hugs the baseline while returning serve and took several second serves from two feet inside the baseline. The speedy Spaniard shortened his backswing to create a more compact stroke and is adept at changing directions: his lethal down the line shots frequently left Vicente flat-footed.

"On the clay (I) back up more on the return," Nadal said. "On the hard court, I try to hit harder and be a bit more aggressive."

His all-surface ability is evident in his results as Nadal has appeared in four challenger finals on three different surfaces this year. [Rafaelnadal.com correction: He's appeared in six challengers so far, and has won two of them -- Barletta and Segovia.] In his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, he reached the third round before bowing to Paradorn Srichaphan and said today he�s spending some of his practice time trying to improve his serve and volley.

Spanish players are well aware of Nadal�s sensational shotmaking skill. His clay-court credentials grew immensely when he defeated defending French Open champion Albert Costa en route to the Tennis Masters Series-Monte Carlo quarterfinals [RN.com correction -- round of 16] in April. Nadal respects his elders � he just can�t tolerate losing to them. In addition to his victory over Costa, Nadal has beaten Moya, Albert Portas, Magnus Norman and scored a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 over his next opponent, 22nd-seeded Younes El Aynaoui, on red clay.

"El Aynaoui plays better on hard courts," Nadal said. "He�s a very dangerous player, serves very well and has a big forehand. He�s playing his best tennis the last couple of years."

As Nadal wrapped up today�s victory he removed his white Nike headband and his shoulder-length brown hair immediately fell over his forehand and covered his face like a curtain. Brushing his left hand through his hair, Nadal looked up to saw a swarm of fans awaiting autographs and photo-ops and as he walked past the Heineken Red Star Caf� he stopped to pose for some more fans eager for a photo of a young player with a promising future.

**Thanks to Diem for the article. Please do not use or copy without credit to the original source and VamosRafael.com. Thanks.**

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