New York, Aug 30 (IANS): Top seed Rafael Nadal began his quest for a third US Open tennis title by defeating Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round.
The match on Tuesday was played under the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof at Flushing Meadows amid heavy rain here, reports Efe.
The 31-year-old Spaniard hit 33 winners against Lajovic, who is ranked 85th in the world.
Nadal had to break back to win the first set, but cruised in the second and third. Nadal prevailed over his opponent 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in their only previous meeting, in the round of 16 at the 2014 French Open.
The victory came a week after Nadal returned to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time since July 2014.
His next opponent will be the winner of the first-round match between Japan's Taro Daniel and American Tommy Paul.