| NEW YORK: Olympic champion Rafael Nadal showed his mettle at the US Open, overcoming early challenges to win early this morning in the start of what's expected to be a wide-open tournament. 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). Nadal got much more of a test from the German qualifier than many anticipated, and shook his head near the end of a match that lasted nearly three hours. World number 136 Phau held his own in the opening set against the game's leading player before losing the tiebreak 7-4 but was swept aside in the second in 46 minutes. Andy Murray of Britain defeated Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. No 32 Gael Monfils downed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. Nadal, this year's French Open and Wimbledon champion, surprisingly double-faulted when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third before winning the tiebreak 7-4. Roger Federer, bidding for his fifth straight US Open title, was scheduled to begin today, as were No 1 Ana Ivanovic and the Williams sisters. The final Grand Slam event of the season was expected to be a scramble on both sides. Federer has won at least one grand-slam event every year since 2003 and though he said he was feeling less pressure this time, he admitted it would be tough. "I think I need the (crowd) support a little bit this year," he said. "(But) I still believe it's an advantage if you know how to win a US Open. It's a tough tournament to win." Also desperate to stop Nadal is Novak Djokovic, aiming to reproduce his Australian Open form and win his second grand-slam title of 2008. Djokovic, runner-up to Federer last year, took his maiden grand-slam title in Australia in January. After an early loss at Wimbledon, the Serbian reached the final in Cincinnati and won bronze at the Olympics. Nadal seems like the natural favourite, 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 favourite. 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. Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beat Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2. No 29-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Also winning were No 7 David Nalbandian of Argentina, No 10 Stanislas Wawrinka and No 16 Gilles Simon of France. Kuznetsova wins - Page 46 | 
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