minors this season. Tuesdays loss was just the second in nine home games for

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." Myles Straw Astros Jersey . The 49ers announced the deal Thursday. San Francisco selected Kilgore in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Appalachian State. He has played in 33 regular-season games, plus all six playoff games the last two seasons. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . Carcillo was a little of both for New York in Game 3. Derek Stepan, Martin St. Louis, Dan Girardi and Carcillo scored goals, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapastros.com/ .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center. Michael Brantley Astros Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. Brian Hunter Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer.The St. Louis Blues are among the best defensive teams in the NHL, but theyve lost goaltender Brian Elliott indefinitely. Getting the nod in his place will be rookie Jake Allen, who will try to help the Blues continue their dominance of the lowly Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The Oilers dropped to 0-11-2 against the West with Thursdays 1-0 overtime loss at Nashville. Jordan Eberle had a chance to end the slide, but he was stopped on a penalty shot 13 seconds into the extra period. We havent been able to take many positives lately, where at the start of the season, we felt good about the way we played even though maybe we came out on the short end of the stick, coach Dallas Eakins said. This one for the group was a step forward even though we couldnt get both the points. Edmonton has averaged only 1.63 goals during its eight-game skid (0-6-2) and gone 3 for 27 on the power play. Eberle has no goals in six contests and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has none in eight games. Taylor Hall has four goals and three assists in five career visits to St. Louis. Oilers defenceman Justin Schultz and Martin Marincin will both be healthy scratches tonight, Oscar Klefbom and Keith Aulie will take their spots. St. Louis (14-6-2) gives up 2.00 goals per game, tying Nashville for the league lead. Elliott is a big reason for that success, posting a league-best 1.82 goals-against average. Its unclear when Elliott will get a chance to improve on that since hes out indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered late in the second period of a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. Allen stepped in to stop 15 of 17 shots before giving up the only shootout tally in the third round.dddddddddddd The goalies have been the heart and soul of our team and the biggest reason why weve been winning, left wing Alexander Steen said, so its tough to see a guy like Moose (Elliott) go down. With Elliott out, Allen will likely carry the load and hes 6-2-1 with a 2.12 GAA and two shutouts in nine games. However, he has a 3.10 GAA while going 3-1-1 in his last five appearances. Hes expected to be backed up by Jordan Binnington, who was recalled from Chicago of the AHL on Wednesday while free agent Martin Brodeur will start practicing with the team Friday. Binnington was 6-2-1 with a 1.89 GAA in the minors this season. Tuesdays loss was just the second in nine home games for the Blues, who followed a 2-2-0 road trip by giving up a two-goal, third-period lead before falling to the Senators. The loss is one thing, but the way we played at times is disappointing, attention to detail and focus, coach Ken Hitchcock said. Steen has snapped out of his funk, scoring two goals and assisting on two others over the past three games. He had there goals and eight assists through the first 19 after leading St. Louis with career highs of 33 goals and 62 points last season. Steen has no goals in eight career home meetings with Edmonton, but hes managed six assists. The Blues are 14-2-1 in their last 17 matchups with the Oilers (6-14-3), outscoring them 17-4 during a three-game sweep last season - including 6-2 in the only home matchup March 13. Theyve won seven of the past eight in St. Louis, and that dominance seems likely to continue against Western Conference-worst Edmonton, which has lost eight straight. ' ' '