It means Nadal stays unbeaten in his 20 grand slams matches this yr having triumphed on the Australian Open and French Open earlier than withdrawing from the Wimbledon semifinals as a consequence of damage.
The Spaniard was taking part in his first US Open match since profitable his fourth title at Flushing Meadows in 2019, and he needed to overcome an early scare in opposition to world No. 198 Hijikata.
“I used to be somewhat bit nervous,” Nadal mentioned of his efficiency within the first set. “First match right here in New York after three years, an evening session, it is all the time thrilling. I went via this robust second.”
Hijikata secured the opening break with a lob at 3-3 earlier than serving out for an early lead, however Nadal started to say his dominance within the second set — breaking Hijitaka’s serve on the first alternative.
Nadal appeared untroubled from there — leveling the match with one other break, then taking the subsequent two units to finish the victory in simply over three hours. He ended the match with 42 winners and 22 unforced errors.
With no Novak Djokovic within the draw, Nadal has a superb probability of profitable his twenty third grand slam title at this yr’s US Open.
” what, I’ve been working towards fairly properly throughout the entire week,” Nadal mentioned. “Then competing is a special story. That you must undergo all this course of — it isn’t straightforward.”
The 36-year-old was additionally questioned about taking too lengthy between his serves throughout Tuesday’s recreation, however Nadal insisted umpires weren’t giving him completely different remedy and failing to giving him warnings for exceeding the time restrict between serves.
“I’ve an issue that I’m sweating so much,” he defined. “If you end up taking part in throughout these very humid situations, we now have the largest drawback at the moment, that’s we do not have the ballboys bringing the towel to you for the final couple of years — you must go to the farthest place of the courtroom to take the towel.
“The issue for gamers like me is that I’m sweating that a lot. Whenever you go to select up the towel, you’ll be in bother with the time, so I’m not going fairly often. I do not assume I’ve a special remedy from the umpires in any respect.”
Nadal will face Italy’s Fabio Fognini within the second spherical — a participant he has overwhelmed 13 occasions throughout 17 matches.
