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The Spanish world number one maintained his standard low-attitude heading into the last bit even before th August 30 start of the US Open.
Nadal refuses to look farther ahead than American qualifier Taylor Dent, his second-round opponent.
"The competition starts on Thursday. I only had the chance to play a few games on Wednesday in the morning," said Nadal, who lost at Cincinnati in the semi-finals to Serbia's Novak Djokovic the past two years.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Nadal lost to Britain's Andy Murray in the Toronto Masters semi-finals last week and was unhappy with his serve.
"Things will change," Nadal vowed. "The serve will be very important. I must serve much better if I really want to have any chance to be in the tournament. That's what I'm working on."
Nadal said conditions between the two hard-court Masters events could not be more of a contrast.
"The court is completely different. It's very fast here, much faster than Toronto," Nadal said. "It's not easy to adapt to this court after the semi-finals or final in Toronto. But for sure I am here to try my best."
Djokovic, Cincinnati runner-up the past two years, echoed Nadal's thoughts on the court speed.
"I was a little bit surprised when I come here to see how different it is from Canada," Djokovic said. "In Canada it's slower and you get to control the ball a little bit more. But these courts are faster.
"Playing finals two years in a row is definitely great success for me. It probably suits my game here. I cannot complain, I just hope that I can continue on the good run I had here the last couple of years."
