In his first match at the U.S. Open in three years, Rafael Nadal got off to a tentative start and then had a shaky finish.
But the rusty Nadal, who has played one match since withdrawing from Wimbledon with a torn abdominal muscle, summoned enough greatness to repel the pesky unseeded Aussie Rinky Hijikata, and won a 3-hour, 8-minute four-setter 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
“It was a tough match,’’ Nadal said. “I was a little nervous after three years my first match here on the night session. But I think I played better. It was a day to get the job done.’’
The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd savored the unexpected tight battle as the former Tar Heel All-American who is ranked 190th shook off four match points and battled Nadal in a 19-point final game.
“It’s been a long wait,’’ said Nadal, who didn’t attend the two pandemic Opens. “I played one match in 50 days. It’s about being humble enough to accept the process and take positive things. It’s a moment to survive and stay positive, stay with the right attitude, enjoying the fact I’m here.’’
Nadal is the second seed with a golden opportunity to move two Grand Slams ahead of Novak Djokovic and notch No. 23, which would likely tie Serena Williams while being first in the men’s all-time standings.
But in his only match after Wimbledon, Nadal lost two weeks ago in Cincinnati.
He looked good in his pink attire but played ragged in the first set, and couldn’t do a thing against the Aussie’s serve. Nadal failed to post one break point.
At 3-3, Hijikata posted his break, retrieving a drop shot, then bashing an ensuing overhead. He swung his arm violently in celebration before turning to Nadal to apologize for his outburst.
That was really all the celebrating he would do after winning the first set. Nadal rallied to win the next three — the final two sets played under the roof as the rain came.
“I was able to come back after a tough first set,’’ Nadal said. “You have to accept you’re going to suffer.”
Serena Williams isn’t the only longtime female player hanging up her racket after this U.S. Open.
Germany’s Andrea Petkovic also called it a career following her first-round loss Tuesday to No. 13 Belinda Bencic on Court 7. The former top-10 player spent 15 years on the WTA Tour, but she reached just one quarterfinal in 14 appearances in Flushing Meadows.
“It was just pure sadness, which is also sometimes nice in a way. It was very pure. It wasn’t really negative. It was just exhausting. Crying so much is exhausting,” Petkovic said, as she teared up during her postgame press conference. “I think for me I still love the game, still have a tremendous amount of passion for the game. It’s more the body that is not allowing me to play tennis anymore in a way that I want to play it.”
The 34-year-old Petkovic did tell a funny story about how well she has been treated while in the United States since she announced her retirement earlier this summer.
“I have to say something really funny. Every American that I encountered and told them I’m retiring, their first reaction was, ‘Congratulations.’ Every European I told this, they were, ‘Oh, my God, what are you going to do now?’ ” Petkovic said. “I have to say the last few days I’ve embraced the American way of looking at it a little bit more.”
American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open winner, overcame a first-round scare after dropping the first set, 6-1, for a three-set decision over Greet Minnen at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Fourth-seeded Paula Badosa also came back from a set down to oust Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
Qualifier Clara Burel knocked out No. 25 Elena Ribykina. … American qualifier Christopher Eubanks advanced past Pedro Martinez of Spain, not the Hall of Fame pitcher.