Fragen und Antworten » before smiling sheepishly and pausing again

NEW YORK -- Ask Rafael Nadal how his famously troublesome left knee is feeling on the eve of the U.S. Open, and hell balk a bit while formulating a response. "I am ..." the 12-time major title winner began, haltingly, during an interview with The Associated Press. "You know ..." he resumed, before smiling sheepishly and pausing again. Eventually, Nadal offered something of a complicated answer. "I have to say that I am very well, because the results have been amazing since I came back," he said. "If I say something else, (it) will sound strange." Thats because when the years last Grand Slam tournament begins Monday, none of the players setting foot on the blue hard courts of Flushing Meadows possesses as much momentum -- or is in as fine form -- as the No. 2-seeded Nadal. Hes won his past 10 matches heading into the first round against the 97th-ranked Ryan Harrison of the United States. Another past U.S. Open champion on Monday afternoons schedule is 2000-01 winner Venus Williams, a former No. 1 now ranked 60th who will be taking on recent Wimbledon semifinalist and 12th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. At night, Williams younger sister Serena, the defending champion, plays 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone of Italy, while 17-time major champion Roger Federer faces 62nd-ranked Grega Zemlja of Slovenia. The biggest curiosity when it comes to Nadal these days is how his knees will hold up. Theyve presented recurring problems for him over the years, particularly the left one, which kept him out of action from late June 2012 until February 2013. He missed the London Olympics, last years U.S. Open and this years Australian Open. "I feel more comfortable now than six months ago, thats for sure," Nadal said, then quickly added: "But I still have pain some days." He was asked whether he thinks that might be the case for the rest of his career. "Hopefully not," the 27-year-old Nadal said. "Hopefully not." Hard courts could exacerbate the matter because of the pounding legs take on the unforgiving surface. Nadal himself maintains that there should be more tournaments played on other kinds of courts. Yet hes been successful everywhere, winning the Australian Open and U.S. Open once each, along with Wimbledon twice, to go along with his record eight championships on the slower red clay of the French Open. Nadal is 15-0 on hard courts in 2013, with his current run of victories built en route to titles at Montreal and Cincinnati. "Hes on a great streak right now. Hes playing fantastic tennis. Hes playing as well as anyone in the world right now," said the 21-year-old Harrison, who will be making his Arthur Ashe Stadium debut against the tournaments 2010 champion. "So Im going to have to bring a really high level out." Nadals rivals at the top of the game have taken note, too, of course. Summed up defending champion Andy Murray: "Hes going to be very difficult to beat here." Top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who won the 2011 U.S. Open, said: "Nadal is definitely back, and hes playing maybe the best tennis that he ever has played on hard courts. ... He seems like he changed a little bit the game. He stepped in a little bit more. He knows that now he has to be a bit more aggressive than he usually is because of, I guess, his knees and everything and because hard court is not clay. Its not his favourite surface; its faster. Im sure he worked on that." Nadal agreed with that assessment: He is making an effort to hit balls earlier than he used to. He is trying to be more aggressive. "Im clearly very impressed, especially seeing him play really well on the quicker hard courts. ... Hes someone to be reckoned with. There were a lot of question marks when he came back. Especially, people thought he was just going to play on the clay courts, or most of it, and just some hard courts," said Federer, the champion in New York every year from 2004-08. "Hes playing a full schedule," Federer said, "and hes had an incredible season so far." All told, Nadal is 53-3 with a tour-leading nine titles, more than twice as many as any other man. He reached the final at 11 of the 12 tournaments he entered. A year ago, when Murray beat Djokovic in five sets in the U.S. Open final, Nadal was at home on the Spanish island of Mallorca, watching the tournament on television. Nadal wasnt particularly concerned about missing this particular tour stop, he said, as much as he fretted about when -- and, really, whether -- he would get back to playing his best. "I was worried about the recovery, not about being here," he said. "I was more worried about when I will have the chance to be back, how will the knee improve. ... Emotionally, there were ups and downs. It is hard when you are working every day and you dont see the improvement on the injury. That is the hardest moment, the toughest moment." The last time he was seen in Grand Slam action, at Wimbledon in June, Nadal was being beaten by 135th-ranked Steve Darcis, the only first-round loss of his career at a major tournament. That also was Nadals only defeat in his past 33 matches. If he and Federer both win four times at the U.S. Open, they will meet in the quarterfinals. They own a combined 29 Grand Slam titles, have faced each other 31 times (Nadal leads 21-10), including in eight major finals (Nadal leads 6-2) -- and have never been on opposite sides of the net at Flushing Meadows. "We deserved a final here in the U.S. Open. Yeah, that is strange that it didnt happen. I remember Roger having match points in the 2010 semifinals, 2011 semifinals -- so we were one point away. ... I missed it in 2009; I missed it in 2008," Nadal said. "Hopefully this time will be the good one." Yeezy 700 V2 Vanta Australia . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. Yeezy Boost 350 Australia . Siddikur, who led on all four days and took a four-stroke lead going into the final day, bogeyed four out of six holes starting at the sixth and continued a forgettable last round in which he returned a three-over 75 to finish with a 14-under 274. http://www.yeezyshoesaustralia.com/ . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Australia Online . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Yeezy Boost 350 Authentic For Sale . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. SONOMA, Calif. -- Although Dario Franchitti hasnt won an IndyCar race since last years Indianapolis 500, hes in prime position to snap that unpleasant streak when he starts on the pole Sunday in an excellent Honda at Sonoma Raceway. But if he can help Scott Dixon by stepping off the gas a bit, Franchitti would be happy to follow team orders. Franchitti wont put his personal success ahead of Target Chip Ganassi Racings fortunes. That means Dixon will get every chance to gain ground on IndyCar points leader Helio Castroneves (453 points), who leads second-place Dixon (422) with five races to go. "I want to win the race, obviously," Franchitti said after turning a lap in 1 minute, 17.5271 seconds to win his 33rd career pole. "But the big picture -- and we say this every year in our team -- we sit in the first meeting of the year, and our two goals are to win the 500 and win the championship. We didnt win the 500, so weve got to win the championship. Scott is our best shot at that, and whatever I can do to help him win that championship, I will." Will Power also hasnt won an IndyCar race since early last season in Sao Paulo, yet he feels the same way about Team Penske teammate Castroneves, who needs a strong finish in the waning weeks of the IndyCar season to earn his first championship. "Anything to help Helio win the championship," said Power, who finished second in each of the last three years. Dixon finished qualifying in second place at 1:17.7196, while Castroneves starts back in fifth behind Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay. That distance isnt much, but its a bit tougher to make up at Sonoma Raceway, a 2.385-mile road course in Northern California wine country. Passing is uncommonly difficult on the winding, 12-turn Sonoma track, which makes qualifying particularly important. Four pole-sitters have won the race, and nobody has moved up to win from farther than fifth. Its tough even under ideal conditions, but the Bay Area wind has been unpredictable this weeek, its direction changing 180 degrees over the course of many afternoons.dddddddddddd The wind also blows Sonoma sand onto the track, creating unpredictable tire conditions and general uncertainty with every turn. "It was all over the place," Castroneves said after qualifying. "You really have to expect the unexpected all the time -- and then the sun is really beautiful right now, and actually no (wind). It was very difficult for everyone." Charlie Kimball continued his impressive recent work with a sixth-place run Saturday, easily his highest qualifying position in Sonoma. Ganassis Kimball earned his first career victory in IndyCars most recent race in Ohio. "The wind does totally change the track," said Power, who set the track record in qualifying last year. "Our car was quite tough. Im pretty happy. I think the Ganassi guys have definitely got a leg up on everybody here." Franchitti earned his third pole at Sonoma and his fourth pole of the season. The Scot said his team spent a sombre week working on the race after the recent deaths of Chip Ganassis father, Floyd, and the wife of former Ganassi engineer Andy Brown. "Its obviously been a very tough week," Franchitti said. "Were pretty focused on bringing a good result for the team." While the top two teams will do anything to help their top two drivers, nobody is conceding the IndyCar series title to the two front-runners just yet. Five drivers are within 111 points of Castroneves, including Andretti Autosports Hunter-Reay in third place and Franchitti in fifth. Castroneves said hes feeling fine after spraining his neck and cutting his shin when he crashed a stock car during practice on a street course in his native Brazil two weeks ago. He insists hes in top condition to handle the demanding Sonoma track -- as does defending Sonoma champion Ryan Briscoe, who qualified well back in 22nd place for Panther Racing in his final IndyCar event of the season. ' ' '