Rafael Nadal beats Rinky Hijikata 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
And there we have it. Nadal breaks for one final time tonight in New York to secure victory. He needs five match points (five!) to get over the line as Hijikata puts up an almighty late fight, but a blistering forehand winner down the line finally breaks Hijikata’s resistance and does it for the Spaniard!
Hijikata departs the stadium to a rousing ovation – from Nadal as well as the crowd – and the 21-year-old can be very pleased with that outing tonight.
That pretty much wraps up our coverage of day two at Flushing Meadows. Before we head off though, here’s my colleague Tumaini Carayol’s thoughts on Emma Raducanu’s exit from the tournament. Let’s do it all again tomorrow.
At 4-3 up, Nadal wobbles. He is human, after all. Oh no, it turns out he’s not. As you were. Hijikata brings up three break points but the Spaniard saves all of them before, eventually, claiming the game. That was a tough one for Nadal, but he’s 5-3 up now and just one game from winning this match.
