"You know Rafael Nadal's serious when he arrives at a tournament almost a week in advance; he would not sacrifice being healthy at the US Open to play in Cincy" - Andy Roddick

Rafael Nadal returns to action this week for the first time in over a month after suffering an abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw from the semi-finals at Wimbledon in July.

Nadal will feature in the Cincinnati Masters, where he is seeded second. The Spaniard has received a bye in the opening round and will face either Borna Coric or Lorenzo Musetti in the second round.

Some fans have been worried about Nadal's fitness, opining that the Spaniard could risk aggravating his injury by playing the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open back-to-back.

But Andy Roddick reckons the 22-time Major champion would not dent his US Open chances with a few matches at the Cincinnati Masters if he did not have a good amount of faith in his body.

While speaking on Tennis Channel, the American pointed out that the Spaniard's management did well to get him to play his opening match as late as possible. Roddick also stressed that Rafael Nadal's early arrival in Cincinnati shows that he means business.

"Props to Rafa's management for getting him into that Wednesday night timeslot, giving him as much time as possible to get ready and get his practice reps in. But listen, you know Rafa's serious when he arrives at a tournament almost a week in advance to get used to the conditions in Cincinnati," Roddick said.

"I'm sure he's playing practice matches everyday. So, Rafa's not at this point - he would not sacrifice being healthy at the US Open to play in Cincy if he didn't feel like he could out play a healthy match on Wednesday night," he added.

Roddick asserted that while Nadal's body is not a big concern, his game could be one, given he has not played since Wimbledon. That said, the American reiterated that Nadal would never hamper his US Open participation if he did not fully believe in his recovery from the abdominal tear.

"So, I expect to see Rafa physically healthy. Now, the game is a different story, not having played since Wimbledon but I don't see him going out and playing a match in Cincinnati if he's not fully healthy," Roddick said. "I don't think he would have put the US Open at risk if that was the case."

"His game's going to be able to show for it like we've seen this year" - CiCi Bellis on Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal speaking to the media ahead of the 2022 Cincinnati Masters.

Former World No. 35 CiCi Bellis also gave her thoughts on Rafael Nadal's physical state while speaking alongside Andy Roddick on Tennis Channel.

Bellis highlighted how Nadal's biggest concern at this stage of his career will always be to protect his body. She did not seem too concerned about the latter's game and form, pointing out how Nadal has displayed immense quality throughout the year.

"Obviously he is getting into the latter stages of his career so just staying healthy and maintaining his body is the biggest thing for him right now," Bellis said. "His game's going to be able to show for it like we've seen this year, so I think just making sure he's healthy for the Open is gonna be the biggest thing."