NEW YORK -- The hair is shorter now, a tad thin on top. The shorts are shorter and the sleeves a little longer.But at the age of 30, Rafael Nadal still has the look of urgency in his brown eyes, the fierce concentration on his face, the perpetually furrowed brow.After the second point of Friday nights third game, there was another familiar sight -- a comforting one if you are a Rafa fan -- the vintage celebratory uppercut. It followed a terrific sequence when Nadal tracked down a deft drop shot by Andrey Kuznetsov and sent a deft forehand flick for a cross-court winner.All summer long there have been grave concerns about Nadals health, but after a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory, the No. 4 seed is into the fourth round of the US Open. Amazingly, Rafa hasnt been to the second week of a Grand Slam since last years French Open, and hasnt achieved that here in three years.Oh, and there was a sublime, scrambling, between-the-legs lob on the second-to-last point that set off a scissor-kicking, fist-pumping episode after he won the point.I couldnt see Andrey, [but] I imagined he was going very close to the net, Rafa explained in his on-court interview. The only chance was the lob shot. I was lucky that the ball was in.Nadal won nine of the last 11 games. Kuznetsovs serve was broken seven of 12 times.A few more takeaways:Rafa scores a 2016 hat trick: In this day and age, its not easy to beat someone three times in a single season. But three of Nadals 37 wins this year have come against the unfortunate 25-year-old Russian -- in three different continents: Asia (Doha), Madrid (Europe) and now North America. The overall head-to-head is 4-0, and Rafa has won 10 of 11 sets.The wrist seems to be OK: You may remember when Nadal pulled out of Roland Garros after the second round with a nicked-up left wrist and then was forced to skip Wimbledon. He has said that its not completely healed, but there were times when he was under duress that Rafa seemed to hit out completely from both sides. Roland Garros was a tough decision, then Wimbledon again, he said. But here I am in New York; thats a very special city.Maybe playing in Rio was a good idea: Back in the day, Rafa always thrived on a heavy tournament schedule. But given his growing history of injuries, going to the Olympics, which were wedged into the ATP World Tour calendar, seemed like bad play for a guy who passed on Wimbledon. But Rafa went, losing the bronze-medal match against Kei Nishikori. However, he won doubles gold with partner Marc Lopez. That gave him confidence heading into New York, and he looks remarkably fresh through three rounds. More importantly, some of that old confidence seems to be seeping into the two-time US Open champions consciousness.Next up: Nadal meets No. 24-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Sunday. Pouille knocked off No. 15 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets Friday, a match that required 3 hours, 24 minutes. Rafa and Pouille have met only once previously, with Nadal winning 6-2, 6-1 last year in Monte Carlo, but Pouille is having the best season of his life. Two months ago, he reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Fortuitously, they practiced together before the Open. Fake Vans . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Fake Vans From China . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. https://www.vansfake.com/ . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Fake Vans For Sale . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Fake Vans Website . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. SAN FRANCISCO -- Ivan Nova hopes to take a third step toward becoming the next J.A. Happ when the Pittsburgh Pirates conclude a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon.Nova will be making his third start since being acquired on the cheap -- two players to be named -- from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.The first two starts were exactly what the Pirates had hoped for in their quest to get back in the National League wild-card race. He limited the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers to a total of four runs in 12 1/3 innings, pitching the Pirates to 5-3 and 5-1 wins, respectively.That was quite a change from the Nova who pitched his way out of New York. That version of the right-hander had recorded the third-worst ERA in baseball (5.31) since the start of the 2014 season.No doubt, the Pirates were willing to take on a resurrection project in part because a similar one worked so swimmingly the previous season.That was when they took the struggling Happ off the hands of the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a minor league pitcher, Adrian Sampson.Happ brought with him the fifth-worst ERA (4.72) since the start of the 2011 season. However, he helped pitch the Pirates into the NL wild-card game by going 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts.He had been 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA in 20 starts for the Mariners last season.Happ pitched himself into a three-year, $36 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason, and he hasnt disappointed. The left-hander is tied for the major league lead in wins this season with 16.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says a big difference in Nova is his new defense.He didnt walk guys (and) made us put the ball in play, Roberts said after the loss to Nova and the Pirates on Friday night. Those guys over there, they can defend.That highlight-reel-filling defense was on display in the Pirates first two games in San Francisco.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh has made three errors, but two were unusual (a dropped foul pop fly by pitcher Jameson Taillon and a catchers interference on Francisco Cervelli), and none has cost the team a run.The Giants also have been strong defensively in the series. And they might have to be again with Matt Cain (4-7, 5.47 ERA) on the mound Wednesday.The veteran could use a rejuvenating trade to the Pirates, as he has headed down the same path as Nova and Happ in recent years.Cain has gone just 8-18 with a 5.05 ERA since the start of the 2014 season. The ERA is the sixth worst in baseball over that stretch.The three-time All-Star has had more than his fair share of success against the Pirates in his career, going 3-2 with a 3.04 ERA over 11 starts. The ERA is his second lowest against an NL opponent, with only his 3.00 against the Chicago Cubs being lower.Nova (9-6, 4.68 ERA overall this year) has pitched just twice in his career against the Giants, and both were gems. He allowed just one run in 16 innings (0.56 ERA), going 1-0.Having dropped the first two games of the series to Pittsburgh, San Francisco is out of first place in the NL West for the first time since May 10. The Giants are 9-20 since the All-Star break, 1-4 to open their 10-game homestand.Nobodys happy the way weve been playing, San Francisco second baseman Joe Panik said. We know were not playing the way we should. I dont think were taking it easy. Were just not getting the job done.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle hopes his team can do the job one more time to finish the sweep, and he expects a pain-free afternoon because of the pitching matchup.You know, you look for where you can make a difference, he said. Nova-Cain. Thats good. ' ' '