He beat Rinky Hijikata 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. She will face Fognini for a place in the third round
Since the beginning of the season, each of the appearances of Raphael NadaHe in a Grand Slam tournament requires a careful scrutiny of his physique, to check if he is in perfect magazine condition. It was like that at the Australian Open, where he presented himself with victory in a small tournament in Melbourne after the long journey due to the chronic injury to the scaphoid in his left foot. He happened again at Roland Garros, because of a severe outbreak in Rome. And it happened again at Wimbledon, already after an innovative treatment to avoid the infiltrations to which he had to undergo throughout the two weeks in Paris.
Nadal won his twenty-first Grand Slam title in Australia, added his twenty-second in the French capital and had a more than promising path in London before an abdominal rupture crossed him that prevented him from playing the semifinals. The restlessness is reproduced in the United States Open, where he has arrived with only one match since the unfortunate mishap at Wimbledon: defeat against Borna Coric at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, without having them all with him regarding the definitive solution to a problem that can condition his performance when it comes to serving. After a hesitant start, he beat Rinky Hijikata by 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3, in three hours and seven minutes.
Bad start
On his return to the US Open after three years, he encountered a virtually unknown opponent. Hijikata, a 21-year-old Australian who was making his Grand Slam debut thanks to a wild card, started off with the freshness of someone with little to lose. In his fourth game as a professional, he capitalized on the Spanish’s diesel start to win the first set with the culmination of a direct kick. Loose, fast, brave, taking advantage of any opportunity to go to the net, the 198th in the world made a good break in the seventh game.
Nadal, less content with the serve, gained breadth in his shots and varied directions better to return logic to the game, while the tennis player trained at the University of North Carolina lost effectiveness. It was a sustained and convincing reaction. Overcome the initial bewilderment, understandable due to his lack of mileage, the Spaniard was more like the one we all know. Already with the court covered in the third set due to the rain, the four-time champion of the tournament presented arguments typical of those who aspire to win his twenty-third Grand Slam and return to number 1 in the world and ruled the match with authority.
Hijikata’s impression was pleasant, who resisted until the fifth match point, a meteoric and precise passing from the right of Spanish. Nadal’s good balance with the serve: 57% percentage, 77% of points won with first and 65% with seconds.
waiting for you this thursday Fabio Fogninian old acquaintance whom he has defeated in 13 of his 17 matches, but who lifted him two sets in the third round of this same tournament in 2015. The Italian also returned from two adverse sets in this edition of the US Open to defeat this Wednesday to russian Aslan Karatsev.
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