US Open 2007

[buurs]

It wasn't pretty, but it will work for Rafael Nadal.

Exactly what Nadal needed to happen for him to continue his quest to win did—or at the very least continue playing here at the Open. Walking out on Arthur Ashe Stadium with tons of issues surrounding the tendonitis in his left knee, the biggest question tonight was simply whether or not he would default. But Nadal ran into an opponent physically worse off than himself.

Janko Tipsarevic, a 23-year-old Serb who reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon this year, also has been battling tendonitis in his knees, which may explain—at least partially—why a still not 100-percent Nadal was able to jump out ahead in this match, winning the first set 6-2 off two breaks of serve. But it was an unexpected rib injury that ultimately did in Tipsarevic. He defaulted in the third set, giving Nadal the victory 6-2, 6-3, 3-2 ret.

"I feel better today, a lot more comfortable," Nadal said after the match, looking surprisingly optimistic. "Surely I’m not 100 percent just yet. But so much better than the other day."

Nadal had almost defaulted from the Open before his first-round match, and then went out and looked inhibited in his movement in his first round encounter against unknown wild-card Alun Jones, needing four sets to prevail. Tonight he looked like he wasn't quite as hobbled, but still a long way from the player who has taken on Roger Federer in the final of the last two Grand Slams, winning at Roland Garros.

"Coming back from the injury, it’s difficult to run 100 percent because you always have on your mind the knee," he said.

Nadal’s success tonight will shine deserved light on his already well-documented toughness, for he played with heart despite his pain. But it shines an equal amount of attention, in many ways, on the famous Italian doctor, Peir Francesco Parra, who is here treating players from the Italian Tennis Federation and is also treating Nadal in a hotel in New York City.

Parra, who is called "The Magician," by a number of world-class athletes, has a special machine with five different lasers that purportedly speed up the healing of strained muscles and tendons. Nadal has been going to Parra’s hotel for treatment three times a day.

"Thank god his hotel is near mine," Nadal said in a tennis blog for the Times of London.

It’s worth noting that Nadal only spent one-hour and 38-minutes out on court tonight, which went a long way in keeping the wear-and-tear on his knees to a minimum. He next takes on big-hitting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the No. 74-ranked player in the world.

"It’s very, very difficult," Nadal said about his injury and dealing with the fact that he’s always struggled a bit here at the Open. "But I am improving, I feel better, and that’s always positive."