NEW YORK—Rafael Nadal looked rusty in his opening set in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday.
Facing 85th-ranked Dušan Lajović in his US Open first-rounder, the top seed trailed 3-5 early and nearly went two breaks down. The Serb let the lead slip away but pushed him to a tiebreaker, which Nadal squeaked out 8-6. Had he dropped that, which he almost did, you get the feeling that a three-and-a-half-hour marathon would have been in store.
But after escaping that minor scare—which lasted more than an hour—Nadal seemed to settle down and get comfortable, and it showed in the final score. The 15-time Grand Slam champion kicked it into high gear in the subsequent sets and moved into the second round with a routine 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2 win under the comfort of the roof.
With the victory, the two-time US Open champion improved to 13-0 in the first round at this tournament. Avoiding a first-round upset also ensured that third-seeded Roger Federer will have to reach the semifinals to have a shot of supplanting Nadal atop the ATP rankings.