Rafael Nadal takes on Rogerio Dutra Silva on Thursday in Round 2 of the 2013 US Open. The match is slates for 9 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream HERE or HERE.
World No. 2 Nadal is playing some of the best tennis of his career. Since returning this year from his knee injury, the Spaniard has dominated opponents en route to a 54-3 record to go along with nine ATP titles, including the Roland Garros trophy.
Long known as the "King of Clay," Nadal has been the king of hard courts this season - he's 16-0 on hard courts and won both the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters.
"It has been great," Nadal said earlier this week of his play on hard courts, via Yahoo! Sports. "But there's no time to think about what happened. It's only time to think about what's going on. What's important is (to) try to be ready for the first round of the US Open."
Nadal was ready for his opening round against Ryan Harrison, who Nadal dismissed in three sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-2).
One of the more promising storylines of the US Open is the potential quarterfinals matchup between Nadal and his longtime rival, Roger Federer. Nadal is undefeated in their three meetings this year - the quarterfinals of Indian Wells and Cincinnati, and the final at Rome.
In order for Nadal to do his part in securing another quarterfinals bout against Federer, the Spaniard must on Thursday defeat Dutra Silva.
It took Dutra Silva five sets on Tuesday to advance past Vasek Pospisil and earn a spot in the second round. Dutra Silva, ranked No. 134 in the World, was 0-5 on the season prior to the US Open. The 29-year-old turned professional in 2010 and has compiled a 10-14 record since.
His highest career ranking in the World came in June 2013 when ATP ranked him No. 84.
Thursday will be the first head-to-head meeting between Nadal and Dutra Silva.
*Stats via ATPWorldTour.com and MatchStat.com.
