Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal's US Open campaign has gotten off to a rocky start, with the 22-time grand slam champion dropping his first set to Australian wildcard Rinky ...

“The break point at 3-all set the tone for that set but also the pressure to serve it out. Nadal, the No. 80 Danka Kovinic to ensure her incredible career goes for another match, while No. The court positioning was just razor-sharp, he was ready,” Australian tennis great Jelena Dokic said in commentary for Channel 9. [#RafaNadal]just lost the first set to Rinky Hijikata in the [#USOpen2022]. “I’m excited for the contest, I’m excited for the challenge. “It’s always been a dream of mine to go out there on the biggest stages of tennis and try to have a big crack at players like that. Just really unloading on a lot of those forehands. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Even as he secured the crucial break of serve in the fourth set, Nadal didn’t appear to be moving at his best. It was only at the end of a marathon 15-minute service game — that brought the crowd to its feet — that Nadal finally won the match with his fifth match point.

Rafael Nadal's pursuit of a 23rd Grand Slam title got off to a shaky start at the US Open on Tuesday courtesy of relatively unknown Australian player Rinky ...

Follow game Rafa Nadal vs Rinky Hijikata live coverage, stream information, score online, prediction, TV channel, lineups preview, start date and result ...

This will be the first confrontation between these two tennis players In the last two times that the Spanish tennis player has met an Australian he has won, in March against Kyrgios at Indian Wells and then on May 23 at Roland Garros; He was also in the Mexican tournament in Los Cabos where he passed the qualifying round, but in the round of 16 he was eliminated by the current world No. The Australian tennis player has won seven of the last ten matches he has played here. Open and seeks to increase it today; The No.

Rafael Nadal defeated Rinky Hijikata in four sets at the US Open on Tuesday to reach the second round. The four-time champion will next play Fabio Fognini, ...

The lefty lost his opening match at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati against eventual champion [Borna Coric](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/borna-coric/cg80/overview). The contender for a place at the [Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/intesa-sanpaolo-next-gen-atp-finals/7696/overview) came out firing, playing aggressively to keep Nadal from dominating the action. [‘Welcome To The Big House’: Hijikata Relishing Rafa Clash](/en/news/hijikata-us-open-2022-feature) [Rinky Hijikata](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rinky-hijikata/h0bh/overview) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 at Flushing Meadows, where he is competing for the first time since he won the 2019 title. [Daniil Medvedev](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/daniil-medvedev/mm58/overview), [Carlos Alcaraz](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview) and [Casper Ruud](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casper-ruud/rh16/overview) all must reach at least the final to have a chance of preventing the Spaniard from capturing the top spot. The Australian hit 11 winners to just six unforced errors in the first set, unleashing roars to the New York crowd to celebrate some of his best shots. [Australian Open](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/australian-open/580/overview). The 21-year-old had gained experience in a big match earlier this month in Los Cabos, where he made World No. Nadal leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 13-4. [Arthur Ashe](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/arthur-ashe/a063/overview) Stadium. Night sessions are the best," Nadal said. [Rafael Nadal](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/overview) to discover his rhythm on Tuesday evening at the [US Open](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview), but the four-time champion found it to advance to the second round.

He's now 16-0 in his career in first-round matches at the US Open specifically, too.

1 and No. Serena Williams records that may never be broken: Beating No. Facts & Stats

NEW YORK: Four-time champion Rafael Nadal overcame dropping the first set to defeat Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata at the US Open first round on T...

A break in the fourth game of the third for a 3-1 lead was enough to secure a two sets to one lead. It’s a long time that I played here. “I’m very happy to be back.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal returned to the US Open after three years and although he surprisingly lost the first set to Grand Slam debutant Rinky ...

In 2021 he was unable to participate due to a left foot injury. Maybe that's why he was slow to get into rhythm tonight at Flushing Meadows. [Rafael Nadal's anger and anguish in the middle of US Open by leaked video of his wife's admission to the hospital](https://www.marca.com/en/tennis/us-open/2022/08/31/630eac4c22601dc9158b456b.html)

Rafael Nadal summoned repelled Aussie Rinky Hijikata, winning a 3-hour, 8-minute four-setter 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open.

“I was able to come back after a tough first set,’’ Nadal said. “I have to say the last few days I’ve embraced the American way of looking at it a little bit more.” It was a day to get the job done.’’ It’s a moment to survive and stay positive, stay with the right attitude, enjoying the fact I’m here.’’ “It was a tough match,’’ Nadal said. In his first match at the U.S.

Rinky Hijikata would have thought he was on the verge of a historic upset, but Rafael Nadal was quick to wrestle back the momentum.

The second seed was playing only his second match after an abdominal tear at Wimbledon.

[Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) In some way it was not the day to play perfect. [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. Then I was a little bit nervous. It was not perfect. Nadal said: “Obviously it was a tough match. “I think I didn’t play a good game with my serve. It’s a day to just make the job done, and that’s what I did. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Then he had the break. Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

RAFAEL NADAL went a set down to Rinky Hijikata but battled back to reach the second round of the US Open.

He let out a gigantic roar as he skipped around the hard-court after finally winning the game. But he was still not at his absolute best, at least not consistently as he committed a string of errors throughout. Yet Nadal, in typical battling fashion, rediscovered his level in the second set and broke Hijikata immediately. Nadal had not played on Arthur Ashe Stadium since beating Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-set 2019 final and was out of sorts to begin with. The 21-year-old would've been forgiven for showing nerves on such a stage but served well on his first ever appearance at a major. Hijikata had only ever won one ATP Tour match before this and even that was courtesy of a mid-match retirement at the Los Cabos Open.

RAFAEL NADAL had to fight back from a set down to win on his US Open return in Tuesday's night session.

Nadal was taking part in his first US Open match since defeating Daniil Medvedev in a memorable five-set affair to earn his four and most recent crown in 2019. Nadal's US Open preparations were far from ideal after withdrawing from his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal injury in July. The Spaniard returned to the hallowed hard count in Tuesday's night session with a fighting performance but explained his retirement fear after his latest victory.

A fired-up Rafael Nadal was as motivated as ever as he roared back from a set down to overcome Rinky Hijikata of Australia in their US Open first-round ...

Then when he comes back he's got the foot problem and then he goes to Roland-Garros and then all of a sudden he won, so I'm so impressed again with what Rafa is doing. He is probably the best player or athlete that I have ever met at knowing how to deal with adversity because he deals with that very well and this is so difficult.” “I think probably one of the most difficult seasons of his career, from where he came from and for the things he had in the beginning and in the middle of the season as well. I think we need to wait of course but it could be one of the most surprising ones because he's come a long way from before Melbourne. And he's got the experience to know how to deal with the big winners of the tournament.” “Then before Roland-Garros, we didn't know if he was going to play and then if he's capable of winning here, that will be a major impact. So at least, that will be a major effort. "For some time I thought I may not be able to be back, so I am super happy. "I think I didn't play a good game with my serve. That's what I did today," he continued. "But from where he came, he came from a lot of problems. "It's been a long wait," Nadal said in his on-court interview.

'I'm going to chat to him later': Nadal hits back at tennis great's 'joke' accusation.

“I don’t think I have different treatment from the umpires at all. “I have a problem, that I am sweating a lot, and when you are playing a game during these very humid conditions, we have the biggest problem today. To me, it’s a big joke if somebody says that.” I don’t think I am receiving different treatment at all. but yes for the time clock. Never for breaking the racquet...

The 25-second shot clock rule was introduced in 2018 to speed the game up and to give players a timeframe within which they are expected to serve.

He takes a look at the clock again… Shouldn't they have it at 15 seconds on the second serve? 'I have a problem that I am sweating a lot. Never for doing a mess on court. Never for breaking a racquet. John McEnroe criticised them for not penalising the Spaniard for the time he takes between serves

Rafael Nadal may have swept past Rinky Hijikata in impressive fashion after losing the opening set of their US Open first-round clash, but he was "nervous".

"You need to be humble enough to go through this process and accept that you need to fight and you need to accept that you going to suffer. "As I said, last week I lost a match in the first round. I know what I have to do better for the next couple of days. It was a day to just get the job done, and that is what I did. "You know, that is the sport. In some ways, it was not the day to play perfectly. Things start to go your way, then you start to feel more relaxed, more comfortable. My opponent did it very well for a while. I was not perfect, but happy. "But then I think I played better. "Well, obviously a tough match," Nadal said in his post-match press conference. Yes, I went through this tough moment.

Rafael Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles, but apparently he still feels the nerves in the early rounds.

Djokvoic is not competing in the Open because [he was not allowed to travel to the U.S](https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2022/08/25/unvaccinated-novak-djokovic-withdraws-from-us-open-because-he-cant-travel-to-united-states/). They played an epic 2019 final in which Medvedev came back from two sets down to force a fifth set and turn the crowd from hating him to loving him in the process. [when he spoiled Novak Djokovic’s bid](https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2021/09/12/daniil-medvedev-brings-novak-djokovics-grand-slam-bid-to-a-sudden-and-dramatic-halt-in-us-open-final/) to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a calendar Grand Slam. In the other hand, of course I'm having an amazing year in terms of results, but at the same time a tough year because I went through the foot, the rib, stress fracture on the rib, then the tear in the abdominal. “You need to be humble enough to go through this process and accept that you need to fight and you need to accept that you going to suffer. In some way was not the day to play perfect. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev, and the two could meet in the final on Sept. At the same time we coming back from a tough period of time.” But the Spaniard steadied the course and went on to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory in 3 hours, 8 minutes, capping the match with a sick forehand passing shot for a winner. The feeling is much worse than losing a match, no? Nadal, 36, improved to 20-0 in majors this year and 16-0 in U.S. 198 in the world who played college tennis at North Carolina.