New York, September 2: For a moment it seemed Rafael Nadal was in danger of a premature exit from the US Open against Fabio Fognini on Thursday but he steadied to improve his 2022 grand slam record to 21-0.
Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open titles earlier this year, but an abdominal injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon at the semi-final stage, handing Nick Kyrgios a passage to the decider won by Novak Djokovic.
The 22-time major champion is on a mission to make it three from four grand slam titles this calendar year in Djokovic's absence in New York.
The 36-year-old Spaniard will take on veteran Richard Gasquet next in the third round, whom Nadal boasts a remarkable 17-0 head-to-head record against.
Nadal's 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 win over Fognini also meant he became the first player to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin too.
But the current world number three has bigger fish to fry, needing to maintain his perfect 2022 record at majors for a fifth US Open crown.
If he succeeds, Nadal will not quite claim a calendar Grand Slam - achieved only by five players in singles history in Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962, 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) - but he would have achieved a staggering 26-0 record at majors for 2022.
Find the best IPL odds at 10Cric! Bet on all matches directly from your mobile phone.
Play casino in India at 7Jackpots, and enjoy real money games with fast and secure withdrawal options.