Nadal confident of playing well at U.S. Open

Reuters
Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a shot against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia (not pictured) during the Rogers Cup tennis tournament at Uniprix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former world number one Rafa Nadal is feeling confident about his chances of competing for a third U.S. Open title when the tournament starts in New York next week. "I hope to be ready for it. I have been playing well the last couple of weeks. I think I'm in better shape than a few months ago then arrived the competition and everything that happened," the 29-year old Spaniard told Reuters. "But I'm confident that I can play well." Nadal, who won the U.S. Open in 2010 and 2013 but missed last year's tournament due to illness and injury, was ousted from Wimbledon in a shock second round exit but has claimed three titles in 2015 -- Hamburg, Stuttgart and Buenos Aires. The eighth seed was speaking on the sidelines of a promotional event for a Tommy Hilfiger underwear campaign the 14-times grand slam tournament winner stars in on Tuesday.