Nadal Adjusts to Life as the Hunted at Flushing Meadows

NEW YORK - Rafael Nadal walked onto the grounds of the U.S. Open this week as the world's No. 1 player for the first time — the Wimbledon champion, the Olympic gold medalist, and the man everyone else is now chasing.

The 22-year-old Spaniard officially ended Roger Federer's record 237-week stay at No. 1 on Aug. 18, the culmination of a season in which he has won eight titles, including his fourth French Open and his first Wimbledon.

New York remains the missing piece. Nadal has never reached the final here, and the hard courts that reward quick points have historically blunted his grinding, topspin-heavy game.

"For me, the ranking is a honor, but it changes nothing about the work," Nadal said through a translator. "Every match here is very difficult. I have to play my best every day."

His knees, taped and tended after long matches, are the one cautionary note. He skipped two weeks of practice after Beijing to rest them.

Should Nadal win in New York, he would be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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