'Tired' Nadal eases into U.S. Open second round

NEW YORK -- Olympic champion Rafael Nadal overcame an early challenge and went on to win his first-round match at the U.S. Open.

Playing for the first time as the world No. 1, Nadal swatted his very first shot wide against No. 136 Bjorn Phau.

The Wimbledon and French Open champ was two points from dropping the first set when he surged and, despite needing to bandage a nasty blister, won 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4).

"I didn't play with normal intensity," Nadal said. "Probably I'm a little bit tired."

Asked whether he was more worn down mentally, physically or emotionally from Beijing, he said: "I think it is a little bit of everything."

Nadal got a stiffer test from the German qualifier than many anticipated, and shook his head near the end of a match that lasted nearly 3 hours.

No. 9 seed James Blake had to play past midnight to survive a five-set match against 19-year-old fellow American Donald Young. With the help of two key calls overturned on challenges in the last two games, Blake won 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beat Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2 and No. 6 Andy Murray of Britain beat Sergio Roitman of Argentina, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.

Also winning were No. 7 David Nalbandian of Argentina, No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, No. 16 Gilles Simon of France and No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.

No. 27 Feliciano Lopez of Spain lost to Jurgen Melzer of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. The No. 29-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Roger Federer, bidding for his fifth straight U.S. Open title, was scheduled to begin Tuesday, as were No. 1 Ana Ivanovic and the Williams sisters.

The final Grand Slam event of the season figured to be a scramble on both sides.

Nadal seems like the natural favorite, yet has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in five previous tries at Flushing Meadows. The 22-year-old Spanish dynamo took a while to find his rhythm against Phau, whose spirited play made him a crowd favorite.

Fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, often quiet during early daytime sessions, cheered when Phau dived for a shot, rolled over on his back and chased a return.

In the night's last match, they got behind Young, the former No. 1 junior player in the world. Young came back from down a break to win the fourth set. Serving with the final set tied 4-4, he seemed to have the momentum.

But Blake took control after he successfully challenged to take a point away from Young at the start of the game. Blake went on to break Young to go up 5-4, then served out the match. He successfully challenged again in the last game to reach triple match point.

"Maybe a little experience came through for me at 4-all in the last set," Blake said.