Rafael Nadal's serve was broken six times during his victory against Kazakhstan's Andrei Glubev. Photograph: Mehdi Taamallah/PA
Rafael Nadal overcame a spirited challenge from Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev to reach the second round of the US Open with a 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 victory in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A player ranked 98th in the world who recently ended an 18-match losing streak on the ATP World Tour did not sound like the most testing of opponents for the world No2, but that was doing the Kazakh a disservice.
Nadal has had a shaky time since losing the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic and he was broken in only the fifth game. But that merely fired the Spaniard up and he promptly reeled off four games in a row to clinch the set. It was Golubev who was dictating play, though, and he put himself in a winning position in the second set as he moved into a 5-2 lead.
He should have levelled the match but he blew a 40-0 lead and five set points in all in the same game as Nadal broke back, and the Kazakh then missed another two chances on his opponent's serve. The Spaniard made it four games in a row with another break as Golubev got involved in an argument with the umpire and, even though the outsider forced a tie-break, he rather fell apart to allow Nadal to move two sets up.
Golubev continued to mix thumping winners with wild shots but there were enough of the former to put him two breaks ahead in the third set.
It looked as though this time it would be enough, but Golubev could not find the big shots when the crunch moments came and Nadal sealed victory with a trademark forehand winner down the line, setting up a second-round clash with Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
Nadal's serve was broken six times, once more than in seven matches when he won the title 12 months ago, but the Spaniard was content with his start against a difficult opponent. "I was practising very well all week," he said. "For sure I was nervous. That's normal. It's normal to start the tournament like this with some nerves.
"And what happened today, he didn't help because he played very fast all the time. All the shots, he was trying to hit a winner on almost every shot. So it was difficult for me to find the rhythm. But it's a positive start winning in straight sets, even if it was unbelievable that I won in straight sets. But it is a victory in straight sets.
"I'm happy for the victory. I'm happy to come back to New York. I think I didn't play that bad. But the mental part was positive tonight. The tennis for sure can improve. I have to play a little bit more inside the court. But I am confident I can do it."
Roger Federer and Nadal are seemingly not the only ones sick of the sight of Djokovic and his domination of men's tennis. Ireland's Conor Niland threw up then gave up during his first-round match with the world No1.
Niland lasted only 44 minutes before he tossed in the towel against Djokovic. He was trailing 6-0, 5-1 and already looking as green as the fluffy balls he was frantically trying to retrieve. The first Irishman to play at the US Open, he did at least have a valid excuse. He was suffering food poisoning after eating a meal of pork and salad at a fancy Manhattan restaurant.
"I thought I could bluff my way through but you can't do that against the No1 in the world, I just found out," Niland said.
It was not a fair contest anyway. Djokovic, his appetite for more grand slam titles still driving him, was in a ruthless mood and showing little charity to his ailing opponent. He showed no ill effects of the shoulder injury that forced him to quit last week's Cincinnati final against Andy Murray but was glad to get an early mark on a hot and sunny afternoon at Flushing Meadows.
"I really don't mind that I spend less time on the court," Djokovic said. The Serbian has lost just two matches this year, claiming the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles along the way, but his intentions for the next two weeks are clear and his main rivals have been put on notice. "Now, more than ever, I know that I can actually perform equally well on any surface," he said.
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