Listen to the article
Rafael Nadal has admitted to feeling nervous entering his first round match with Rinky Hijikata, an Australian ranked No. 198 in the world who played college tennis at North Carolina.
A fired up Hijikata came out racing all over the court and broke Nadal with a forehand reflex smash at the net for a 4-3 lead en route to taking the first set and putting Nadal on upset alert.
But the Spaniard steadied the course and went on to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory in 3 hours, 8 minutes, capping the match with a sick forehand passing shot for a winner.
Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, but apparently he can still feel nervous in the early rounds.
“I was a little bit nervous, no?” No. 2 seed Nadal said. “First match here in New York after three years, night session, it’s always exciting.”
Nadal, 36, improved to 20-0 in majors this year and 16-0 in U.S. Open first rounds. He will face Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in the second round Thursday.
“Was not perfect. But happy,” Nadal said. “Second match in 50 days more or less. In some way was not the day to play perfect. Is a day to just make the job done, and that’s what I did. Happy for that.”
