Alex Corretja explains why Rafael Nadal can't be underestimated heading into US Open

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• Rafael Nadal

Alex Corretja thinks Rafael Nadal can definitely be a threat at the US Open if he makes it past his opening few matches at the tournament. Nadal, 36, was out for a month and a half before returning to action at last week's Cincinnati Masters.

In Cincinnati, Nadal suffered a surprise defeat to Borna Coric in his opening match at the tournament. Nadal hasn't had an ideal preparation for the US Open, but his Australian Open triumph showed that he can win a Grand Slam even when he's not given much of a chance.

Corretja feels the Australian Open victory will give Nadal the belief that he can win again from a similar position.

Corretja: Nadal will be very dangerous after a few matches

“So I think Rafa probably when he goes back into the locker room after that match, he might feel like, okay, I missed this or that, and probably, you know, wishes he'd made some adjustments.

But when he saw that his opponent won the tournament and the way he did it, I think he will be pretty much comfortable thinking that he's not that far away from the top of the players. So he only needs a few matches in New York.

And he is going to be again, very dangerous, because he's got the comfort of knowing that he won the Australian Open from a similar position, which was unbelievable, let's say, and surprising as a way that he won. But from where he came, you know, he came from a lot of problems.

So right now, it is a shame that he didn't have this little bit of extra matches. But I'm sure that he's comfortable about his game and his performance. And he's got the experience to know how to deal with the big winners of the tournament”.

At the US Open, Nadal is a three-time champion. Nadal's last US Open title came in 2019, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final. Nadal missed the last two editions of the US Open.