Nadal puts in extra effort for tough win

Rafael Nadal was pushed on a wet and wild Monday night at the U.S. Open by Philipp Kohlschreiber, but before he could dispatch of the 22nd-seeded German, Nadal wanted to get in some practice.

Only one problem. The court was soaked. So Nadal did what any of us would do — he pitched in and personally helped dry it off:

Nadal, who is undefeated in 19 matches on hard courts this year after coming back to beat Kohlschreiber 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, said he had a rough go of it on a muggy New York night.

''It was very, very tough conditions out there. Very humid,'' Nadal said. ''I sweat too much tonight.''

At least now maybe we know why.