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Nadal takes on Aussie wild card Hijikata, Alcaraz meets Baez
The bottom half of the US Open draw kicks into gear on Tuesday in New York, where Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are among the stars in first-round action.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch on Day 2 at Flushing Meadows.

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1) Nadal Returns To NYC: The last time Nadal competed on Arthur Ashe stadium in 2019, he defeated Daniil Medvedev in five sets to clinch his fourth US Open crown. The Spaniard’s first task after three years away is a first-round meeting against 21-year-old Rinky Hijikata, the Australian wild card making his Grand Slam debut.

Nadal, who is the current No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and chasing his third major crown of 2022, is pleased to be back in New York after battling an abdominal issue that has restricted him to just one tournament appearance during the North American hard-court swing.

"Of course, [I'm] excited to play here,” said the Spaniard at his pre-tournament press conference. “It's one of the most important places in my tennis career, without a doubt. So just looking for every single practice to be better and better, just be competitive from the first round. So, let's see."

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2) Alcaraz Faces Baez Test: Beginning the Day 2 schedule on Arthur Ashe Stadium is a mouth-watering opening-round matchup between third seed Alcaraz and the free-hitting 21-year-old Argentine Sebastian Baez.

Alcaraz settled quickly on tournament debut at the US Open a year ago, upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to his maiden major quarter-final. The 19-year-old will be hoping for a fast start to his campaign against Baez as he looks to add a Grand Slam triumph to his stellar 2022 season in which he has claimed four tour-level titles, including two ATP Masters 1000 crowns.

The pair’s only previous tour-level meeting was a semi-final victory for Alcaraz at the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, but Baez has since proven his ability to mix it with the best at Grand Slam level by pushing Alexander Zverev to five sets at Roland Garros in May.

3) Home Favourites To Make Impact?: Eleven American men are in action on Day 2 at Flushing Meadows, where the experienced big-serving duo of John Isner and Sam Querrey will hope to lead the charge in their opening matches against Federico Delbonis and Ilya Ivashka, respectively.

An all-American clash between 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe and Marcos Giron means at least one home favourite is guaranteed passage to the second round on Tuesday, while two of the bright young things of American tennis are also in action — 21-year-old Jenson Brooksby meets Dusan Lajovic and #NextGenATP Brandon Nakashima takes on qualifier Pavel Kotov.



4) Sinner & Musetti In Action: No Italian man has ever lifted the US Open trophy, but a host of talented stars from the southern European nation is looking to change that this fortnight in New York. They include #NextGenATP duo Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, who take to court Tuesday seeking to join countryman Matteo Berrettini in the second round.

Despite his tender age, the 21-year-old Sinner has already reached the quarter-finals of the other three Grand Slam events and reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows a year ago. The six-time tour-level titlist plays tournament debutant Daniel Altmaier, while Hamburg champion Musetti takes on a more experienced opponent in David Goffin.

5) Seeded Stars Seek Fast Start: Cameron Norrie enjoyed a Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon in July, reaching the semi-finals at SW19 having previously never been past the third round of a major. The seventh-seeded Briton will hope to continue that form over five sets in his opening clash in New York against Frenchman Benoit Paire.

The eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz and ninth seed Andrey Rublev also start their title bids, but both face tough early tests in the Big Apple. Hurkacz meets Oscar Otte for the second time this year, after the Pole battled through in three sets in the pair’s clash in Indian Wells in March. Rublev takes on Laslo Djere, the Serbian fresh from reaching his maiden tour-level hard-court final in Winston-Salem last week.