Power Engine: Rafael Nadal returns to Rinke Hijikata
New York (AFP) – Four-times champion Rafael Nadal overcame the first set to defeat Australian Rinke Hijikata in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday. Nadal beat the 198th seed 4-6 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to record his 65th career win in New York.
The 36-year-old Spaniard, who is chasing a 23rd Grand Slam title and a third in 2022, faces Fabio Fognini.
Nadal maintains a 13-4 career lead over the Italian but Fognini famously defeated him in two sets in the third round of the US Open in 2015.
“I’m very happy to be back. I’ve played here for a long time. I thought I might never come back,” said Nadal, whose last appearance in New York saw him win the 2019 title.
World number three Nadal entered this year’s tournament under the cloud of injury after abdominal fatigue forced him to lose the Wimbledon semi-finals to Nick Kyrgios.
Prior to Tuesday, he only played once, the first loss was against Berna Couric in Cincinnati and he looked rusty at first on Tuesday.
Hijikata, who was making his grand slam debut, broke surprisingly 4-3 and scored the first goal in the 10th inning on the back of 11 valiant winners.
However, Nadal quickly got back to work with a break in the second and eighth games of the second set that put him on a level playing field.
A break in the fourth game of the third set to lead 3-1 was enough to secure two sets for one lead.
He ended the tie with a fifth point of the match to seal the victory with a powerful forehand to advance in the tournament missed by long-time rival Novak Djokovic, who was expelled from the United States for refusing to receive a vaccine.
