Veteran Spaniard Rafael Nadal qualified for the third round of the US Open after defeating Italian Fabio Fognini.
Sharjah 24 – Asaad Khalil:
Veteran Spaniard Rafael Nadal overcame a difficult start in his confrontation with Italian Fabio Fognini, before turning things around in his favor and winning 4 sets 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the Flushing Meadows Championship, the last Grand Slam tournament. The racket, in a match in which he was injured when his racket hit the ground and rebounded to his nose, which was bleeding.
And after the record holder with the number of major titles (22) lost the first set 2-6, he fell behind in the second 2-4, but he managed to win the next four games to equal the numbers, before defeating his Italian opponent, who was the first player to overturn his backwardness against the Spanish legend in two sets. For nothing in a major tournament to win 5 games, specifically in Flushing Meadows in 2015.
“It was one of the worst start to my game ever,” Nadal, 36, said of his difficult start to the match. “I have to play better.”
He continued, “The last months have been difficult for me (his abdominal muscles) so I was aware that things like this could happen.”
Nadal will meet in the third round with Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who lost all his previous 17 encounters with the Spaniard, who is seeking his third big title this season, and his fifth crown in Flushing Meadows after 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019.