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Nadal debuts with a scare at the US Open

The Australian Hijikata surprised the Spaniard and took the first set of the match

Rafa Nadal is already in the second round of the US Open, although it has cost him more than expected. The debut this morning in New York has not been easy. The Spanish tennis player, who lost the first set, won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3 in three hours and eight minutes against Rinky Hijikata, who was very combative during the first hour of the match .

Nadal returned to New York three years later. His last match, that final in 2019 against Medvedev that was resolved in an agonizing fifth set. In the following two editions, the covid would prevent the Balearic Islands from playing the last major of the season. The premiere on the Arthur Ashe track went from less to more. The Australian, who came to the tournament through a letter of invitation, started the match like a rocket. With numerous and solvent raises to the net, Hijikata became strong with his service and took advantage of Nadal’s doubts to score the first set.

First warning for the man from Manacori, who was playing a tennis match again after his blow a few weeks ago in the first round of the Cincinnati 1,000 masters. He already warned him then, when he returned after the injury that prevented him from playing in the Wimbledon semifinals. “I need filming.” And this morning, during the first hour of the clash, he accused that lack of games in the last month and a half.

Alcaraz suffers and entertains himself at the US Open

The second set was very different. Nadal began to warm up and quickly built a 0-3 lead. He broke serve again to close out the set and put the tie on the scoreboard. The spirits were already calmer in the technical body of the Spanish. The next two motos went as expected. The Australian did not even get a break ball until the fourth set with 4-3 in favor of Nadal on the scoreboard. Rafa raised up to three break points that could have extended the match until the final fifth set, but he held his serve and closed the match to the rest in the next one.

The next rival will be Fabio Fognini, one of the few tennis players who can boast of lifting Nadal 2-0 in the Grand Slam. It was in 2015, and at the US Open, and since then it has rained a lot. Now the Italian is ranked 60th and he is coming off a horrible year where his best result is semi-finals in Rio and Belgrade.

Nadal will fight over the next few days to win his 23rd Grand Slam and further distance himself from Djokovic, his main rival in the race to be the most successful in history. The Serbian cannot play the last big of the year because he is not vaccinated against covid. The US authorities prohibit the entry into the country of any foreigner who is not inoculated against the virus.

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