Nadal targets best U.S. Open yet

NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) World number two Rafael Nadal believes he is ready to make a big improvement on his three previous US Open efforts when the final grand-slam event of the year begins on Monday.

The Spaniard, who lifted his second French Open in June, has won five titles this year and goes into the event as the main rival to defending champion Roger Federer.

But the 20-year-old has never got past the third round in three tries in New York, a record he is keen to change.

''I was playing bad here the last two years, so it is going to be important for me,'' Nadal said today.

''The US Open is one of my special goals of the year. I worked a lot the last weeks to be prepared here.

''When I started the season, I was always thinking about this tournament. Last year I played my worst tournament in the year here, and this year I want to change that.

Nadal has enjoyed most of his success on clay but beat Federer in the final in Dubai and believes his game is good enough to win a grand-slam title on hard courts.

''The toughest thing is to play good,'' Nadal said.

''If you are playing good, you have a chance on any surface. If you are playing bad, you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach.

''So the thing is, if I say I am playing good maybe I'll have very good results here on this surface. I played very good tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami last year. I won in Montreal and Madrid, so that's not the problem.'' REUTERS PDM RAI2349