It wasn’t easy on Tuesday night for Rafael Nadal, as the No. 2 seed at the US Open was pushed by a surprisingly tough Andrey Golubev, but the end result was a straight-set victory in the first round. Nadal handled the first set easily before facing a tough test in the second and third sets, taking two hours and 49 minutes to book his ticket into the second round.
2011 US Open Results: Rafael Nadal Pushed, Still Dispatches Andrey Golubev In Straight-Sets
Nadal’s 6-3 first set victory was expected, though his 7-6 second-set and 7-5 third-set wins were more labored than the vocal crowd at Flushing Meadows expected. He struggled to break Golubev’s serve as the match wore on, converting three of 10 break points in the second set and three of eight in the third.
In the end, Nadal, though, took care of business with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 win and will move forward to face Nicolas Mahut in the second round.
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