Returning to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time since he won his fourth US Open title in 2019, Rafael Nadal headlined the second night of the 2022 US Open. Fans saw the 22-time Grand Slam champion serve, swing and roar his way to victory… though not without an opening-set surprise.
Of course, plenty of other matches throughout the day offered excitement and drama. Some fan favorites played for their first and only time in Queens this year—and at least one, Sam Querrey, capped a brilliant singles career.
Here are our top stories from Day 2 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Nadal wins four-set battle against Hijikata: Those who saw the result may have thought: “Nadal wins again.” Those who watched the match may have thought: "Who was that guy?"
Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, the 21-year-old currently ranked world No. 198, played out of his mind in an opener against the former world No. 1. Even Nadal, 36, looked stunned as Hijikata zipped across the court, belting back powerful shots. After relinquishing the opening set, Nadal took control—though his opponent proved relentless in a three-hour thriller. The Spaniard capped the match with an exclamatory winner for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory. In doing so, Nadal clinched his 20th Grand Slam victory of the year.
An abdominal tear just weeks ago forced Nadal to withdraw from Wimbledon ahead of his scheduled semifinal, but health concerns were put to rest in this acrobatic opener. At least, for now.
Next up for Nadal: Italy's Fabio Fognini, who battled back from two sets down to stun Aslan Karatsev. Italians Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti also survived five-set thrillers to advance on Day 2.
Venus Williams exits in Round 1: In her Open Era record 91st Grand Slam main-draw appearance, former world No. 1 and two-time US Open champion Venus Williams fell to Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck on Tuesday afternoon in Ashe.
Venus, the 42-year-old who has won seven Grand Slam titles, won only a single game in the first set. She upped her level in the second, nearly matching her aggressive 28-year-old opponent, but lost in a 7-6(5) tiebreak.
It’s unclear what exactly the future holds for Venus beyond the 2022 US Open, although she’s not finished in Flushing Meadows. Venus and sister Serena are scheduled to compete in the doubles competition later this week.
"It's always an honor to play a legend," Van Uytvanck said in a post-match interview. "She means so much to women's tennis—tennis in general—and I was so happy to play her for the first time on Arthur Ashe.”
2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu loses opener: Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open women’s singles titlist, fell to France’s Alizé Cornet on Tuesday night, 6-3, 6-3, in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The No. 11 seed at this year’s tournament, Raducanu became the first defending champion since Angelique Kerber in 2017 to lose in Round 1.
Cornet, the world No. 40 who is unseeded this year, has toppled big foes in 2022. She snapped world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak in the third round of Wimbledon last month.
“I’m sorry I beat her tonight, but I’m really happy with my performance,” Cornet said post-match. “I was fighting my heart out and hanging in there. I think my game at the net was pretty good, I think it was a bit of everything, playing with a bit of variation, and it definitely worked tonight.”
Two-time US Open winner Naomi Osaka falls to Danielle Collins: In a late-night Arthur Ashe Stadium opener that contained the drama of a final, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan—a former world No. 1—fell to American Danielle Collins in two tight sets, 7-6(5), 6-3.
It was the fourth matchup between Collins and Osaka, but the former’s first victory.
“When you lose to someone three times, you get a lot of information on what you can do better,” said Collins. “I just wanted to give myself the best shot to try to improve and do better than I did the last time and the time before, because with Naomi being the player that she is, she definitely whooped me the last time.”
Even with a 3-0 lead in the first, Osaka couldn’t stop Collins’ momentum. The Florida native scored three games of her own in reply and eventually forced a tiebreak, which she won in the very last moments.
Though Osaka put up a fight for most of the second set, Collins capitalized on a forehand error to secure a break, jumping ahead 5-3. She served out the match in one hour and 34 minutes.
Other highlights from Day 2: Carlos Alcaraz moved after winning two sets as Sebastian Baez retired in the third, while Diego Schwartzman went from two sets down to Round 2 in mere moments as Jack Sock pulled the plug in set four with a back injury.
