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NEW YORK - Second seed Rafael Nadal overcame knee pain and an inspired opponent at the US Open tennis championships today to scramble past Australian wildcard Alun Jones 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the first round.
The Spaniard, who sported heavy strapping on both knees and had treatment on his left knee, was a break down in the third set but battled back to deny Jones the biggest win of his career.
Jones, who has risen from well outside the top 1000 two years ago to a career-high 123, caused Nadal all sorts of problems, hitting back to take the second set and then breaking for a 4-3 lead in the third.
But French Open champion Nadal rebounded in typical fashion, winning the next eight games on his way to a second-round match against Jarko Tipsarevic, of Serbia, or American wildcard Ryan Sweeting.
- REUTERS