Ajla Tomljanovic had conflicting emotions after beating Serena Williams, as she admitted she felt like a "villain".

Williams' called time on her illustrious career following Friday's 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to the Australian, though did leave the door open to a possible return.

The 23-time grand slam champion did not let it go easy, clawing back five match points before Tomljanovic finally clinched the deciding set.

While Tomljanovic is sad to see Williams go, she could not say she was sad to have won, sealing a place for herself in tennis history in the process.

"No one's going to pronounce my name right," she quipped after it was suggested she would now be the answer to a common trivia question regarding Williams' final opponent.

"That's going to suck. I don't think I've of been part of tennis history [before], so that's pretty cool.

"I do feel a little bit like the villain. Like I said in Cincinnati, I really did want to play Serena before she retired. If I was the loser today I'd probably be really sad. I don't want to say I'm sad, but just conflicted.

"Probably the most conflicted I've ever felt after a win. During the match I was so eager to win. I mean, I wanted to win as much as the next person because I didn't look at her like, 'oh, Serena, her last tournament'. 

"But then when it ended, it almost didn't feel right. When she started talking about her family and everything, I got emotional because I can relate to having a strong bond with your family.

"When she said that she wouldn't be there if it wasn't for them, I relate to that a lot. Just the whole moment after was just tough to handle a little bit."

Asked what Williams meant to her, Tomljanovic replied: "Growing up I didn't really have idols, but Serena and Venus [Williams] were just so good that I looked up to them the most, I'd say.

"What always drew me to them was their bond with their family, like the togetherness. They always spoke about that, like it was so important to them. I can relate to that because I'm very close to my family and I wouldn't be where I am without them.

"From a young age I remember seeing them with their dad and thinking that's kind of like my story a little bit. Just the fact that you don't have to have anything other than supportive family, a dream, and just will and passion and love for the game to make it. Not just make it, but what she's achieved is absolutely incredible.

"I don't know if it's ever going to be repeated while I'm still around. I still have years left in me. I want to dream bigger than I have so far because that's what she embodies."

Williams bows out with the most grand slam titles in the Open Era, though one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.

Tributes have poured in across the sporting world for Serena Williams following her apparent US Open swansong on Friday, though the 23-time grand slam winner has kept the door ajar on a shock return.

The American, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, suggested she would step away from top-level tennis following the tournament at Flushing Meadows.

Following a 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, her journey now looks to be over – though the 40-year-old admittted "you never know" when asked about future appearances.

Her likely last dance, however, has prompted an outpouring of glowing tributes from far and wide, with a host of major names paying their respects to an unparalleld career.

15-time major-winning golfer Tiger Woods called her "the greatest on and off the court" while four-time NBA champion LeBron James hailed her as "so dope".

Serena Williams' long and illustrious tennis career looks to have drawn to a close after the American lost to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open on Friday. 

Following a long piece in Vogue last month, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks", suggesting the tournament at Flushing Meadows would be her last outing.

Thanks to her success and brilliance on the court, Williams has become synonymous with tennis and is regarded by many as the greatest the women's sport has ever seen.

At the age of 40, Williams has persisted with tennis far longer than most do, and that is testament to her quality and enduring desire for success.

Though Williams left a glimmer of a chance that she may yet play again, joking that she "always did love Australia", she may well have taken to the court for the last time. Here, Stats Perform takes a look at the key facts, stats and figures of her career; in other words, Serena's remarkable legacy.

Twenty-three… and done?

Of course, the headline fact for Williams' career is her grand slam titles count.

She has won 23, which is more than anyone else in the Open era.

But she still had one target left: matching Margaret Court. The Australian's 24 grand slam successes include nine won before the Open era began in 1968, though her overall total has been the benchmark ever since she claimed her final crown at the US Open in 1975.

Clearly, victory for Williams at Flushing Meadows would have been the perfect farewell, but it was not to be. Will that near-miss encourage her to take one more shot in Court's homeland next year?

The finals hurdle

Had Williams managed to reach the championship match in Queens, she would have equalled another record.

She headed into the US Open having played in 33 grand slam finals, one more than Martina Navratilova.

But Chris Evert (34) sits out in front, and that record is now set to remain hers for many, many years.

Top of the pile

It's been a while now since Williams was last the highest-ranked player in the world, but in a way that only further highlights how remarkable her career has been.

She's spent 319 weeks ranked as world number one, which is behind only Steffi Graf (377) and Navratilova (332).

While many might have expected Williams to have been top of the pile for even longer, it's worth remembering how she's spent time out due to injuries and pregnancy, with her general involvement in top-level tennis decreasing after 2014 when she played 16 tournaments – in 2016 that halved to eight, and during no year since has she played in more.

Additionally, some will also be surprised to learn she actually only finished the year as the top-ranked female player five times. Nevertheless, that's still third to only Graf (eight) and Navratilova (seven).

Go hard or go home

Such has been Williams' quality, she was always considered a threat regardless of the surface – she's won each grand slam at least three times.

But there's no denying she was at her most lethal on hard courts.

She has won 48 WTA Tour-level titles on hard courts, which is 11 more than anyone else (Graf) in the Open era.

Those 48 come from a grand total of 73 across all surfaces, leaving her ranked fifth behind Navratilova (167), Evert (157), Graf (107) and Court (92).

Surface to say…

Williams' comfort on hard courts goes even further than that.

She's won 541 matches on the surface, making her one of just two female players to surpass 500 victories on one specific ground type.

Navratilova (600 on carpet) is the only other player to achieve the feat, with Serena's sister Venus (498 on hard) the closest to the 23-time grand slam champion.

The grass is greener

Despite that unrivalled excellence, hard courts may not be the surface many feel to be most synonymous with Williams, however.

Wimbledon is the tournament that would appear to be her favourite.

She's reached the final at SW19 11 times. Only Navratilova can better that record for the most finals at one tournament – though it's worth saying she contested the WTA Finals and Chicago 14 times each, Eastbourne 13 times and 12 at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams' long and illustrious tennis career looks to have drawn to a close after the American lost to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open on Friday. 

Following a long piece in Vogue last month, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks", suggesting the tournament at Flushing Meadows would be her last outing.

Thanks to her success and brilliance on the court, Williams has become synonymous with tennis and is regarded by many as the greatest the women's sport has ever seen.

At the age of 40, Williams has persisted with tennis far longer than most do, and that is testament to her quality and enduring desire for success.

Though Williams left a glimmer of a chance that she may yet play again, joking that she "always did love Australia", she may well have taken to the court for the last time. Here, Stats Perform takes a look at the key facts, stats and figures of her career; in other words, Serena's remarkable legacy.

Twenty-three… and done?

Of course, the headline fact for Williams' career is her grand slam titles count.

She has won 23, which is more than anyone else in the Open era.

But she still had one target left: matching Margaret Court. The Australian's 24 grand slam successes include nine won before the Open era began in 1968, though her overall total has been the benchmark ever since she claimed her final crown at the US Open in 1975.

Clearly, victory for Williams at Flushing Meadows would have been the perfect farewell, but it was not to be. Will that near-miss encourage her to take one more shot in Court's homeland next year?

The finals hurdle

Had Williams managed to reach the championship match in Queens, she would have equalled another record.

She headed into the US Open having played in 33 grand slam finals, one more than Martina Navratilova.

But Chris Evert (34) sits out in front, and that record is now set to remain hers for many, many years.

Top of the pile

It's been a while now since Williams was last the highest-ranked player in the world, but in a way that only further highlights how remarkable her career has been.

She's spent 319 weeks ranked as world number one, which is behind only Steffi Graf (377) and Navratilova (332).

While many might have expected Williams to have been top of the pile for even longer, it's worth remembering how she's spent time out due to injuries and pregnancy, with her general involvement in top-level tennis decreasing after 2014 when she played 16 tournaments – in 2016 that halved to eight, and during no year since has she played in more.

Additionally, some will also be surprised to learn she actually only finished the year as the top-ranked female player five times. Nevertheless, that's still third to only Graf (eight) and Navratilova (seven).

Go hard or go home

Such has been Williams' quality, she was always considered a threat regardless of the surface – she's won each grand slam at least three times.

But there's no denying she was at her most lethal on hard courts.

She has won 48 WTA Tour-level titles on hard courts, which is 11 more than anyone else (Graf) in the Open era.

Those 48 come from a grand total of 73 across all surfaces, leaving her ranked fifth behind Navratilova (167), Evert (157), Graf (107) and Court (92).

Surface to say…

Williams' comfort on hard courts goes even further than that.

She's won 541 matches on the surface, making her one of just two female players to surpass 500 victories on one specific ground type.

Navratilova (600 on carpet) is the only other player to achieve the feat, with Serena's sister Venus (498 on hard) the closest to the 23-time grand slam champion.

The grass is greener

Despite that unrivalled excellence, hard courts may not be the surface many feel to be most synonymous with Williams, however.

Wimbledon is the tournament that would appear to be her favourite.

She's reached the final at SW19 11 times. Only Navratilova can better that record for the most finals at one tournament – though it's worth saying she contested the WTA Finals and Chicago 14 times each, Eastbourne 13 times and 12 at Wimbledon.

World number one Daniil Medvedev was levels above his third-round opponent Yibing Wu on Friday, defeating him 6-4 6-2 6-2 to set up a highly anticipated clash with Nick Kyrgios in his next match.

While Medvedev had the clear power advantage – finishing with 10 more winners and 11 more aces – he also allowed Wu to beat himself, with 18 unforced errors and three winners in the opening set.

Despite his early wastefulness, Wu still created six break point opportunities in the opening set, but could only capitalise on one. It would be his last break of the match as Medvedev tightened the screws down the stretch.

The Russian took the first four matches of the second set to take away any hope Wu had of fighting back into the contest, and in the third set Medvedev's serve really hit top gear.

He faced no break point opportunities in the final frame as he converted over 70 per cent of his points on both first serves (13-of-18) and second serves (eight-of-11), while Wu's errors returned, with 15 and just four winners.

Against Kyrgios next, Medvedev will be looking for his second win against the Australian in their fifth meeting. In their two matches this year – and their only two since 2019 – Medvedev won in four sets at the Australian Open, before Kyrgios got one back at the Canadian Open.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Medvedev – 12/5

Wu – 1/0

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Medvedev – 26/27

Wu – 16/42

BREAK POINTS WON

Medvedev – 6/12

Wu – 1/8

Nick Kyrgios was far too good J.J. Wolf in the third round of the US Open on Friday, not having his serve broken a single time in the 6-4 6-2 6-3 victory.

Kyrgios dominated the match with his serve, racking up 21 aces to Wolf's five, and of the seven break point opportunities the Australian allowed, he saved all seven.

His return game was sharp as well, creating 11 break points and converting five, and he used it to break away in the second set, rattling off five consecutive games to comfortably go up two sets to love.

The third set was more competitive as Kyrgios had a pair of double faults, and more unforced errors (17) than winners (16), but he ultimately had too much firepower for the 23-year-old American.

After coming back from a love-40 deficit, saving four break points in the game, Kyrgios put the finishing touches on the straight sets win with another break of serve to seal it.

With the win, he books his spot in the fourth round, where he will meet world number one Daniil Medvedev.

Kyrgios has won three of the four career meetings between the pair, including their most recent fixture at the Canadian Open.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Kyrgios – 21/5

Wolf – 6/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Kyrgios – 36/32

Wolf – 20/26

BREAK POINTS WON

Kyrgios – 5/11

Wolf – 0/7

Serena Williams hinted that she will return to the court at some point in the future after going down in the third round of the US Open against Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday.

Williams, who saved five match points before eventually succumbing in the three-plus hour marathon, gave an emotional on-court interview where she thanked her family, but also highlighted that she felt like she was getting better as the tournament wore on.

When asked conclusively if this was her final US Open, she was non-committal, saying "you never know".

She took the insinuation that she is not finished playing a step further during her sit-down press conference, laying the breadcrumbs for another go around at the Australian Open.

"I don't know [what it would take to play again] – I'm not thinking about that. I always did love Australia, though," she said with a smile.

"But yeah, you know what, I've come a long way since last year at Wimbledon. Just not sure if that was my last moment or not. Making it a different moment I think is much better.

"And it takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable. It takes a lot more than that. 

"I'm ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking."

When asked what she thinks her life will be like moving forward, Williams said she is excited to be able to spend more time with her daughter, and that karaoke is on the agenda.

"I'm definitely resting tomorrow, and then probably spending some time with my daughter," she said. "I'm a super hands-on mom. I've been with her almost every single day of her life, minus two days or three days.

"It's been really hard on her, my career. So it will be, you know, nice just to do that and spend some time with her, do things that I never really have done or had an opportunity to do. I have such a bright future ahead of me, I don't know.

"Also, I'm kind of at an advantage because COVID happened. I think everyone shut down for a year, and we kind of got to see what our lives would be like if we weren't playing tennis. 

"Then I got injured last year, so I took off literally a year. So I got to see, again, like, what every day would be like to wake up and not have to go to the gym.

"So I don't know. I think I'm definitely probably going to be karaoke-ing tomorrow."

Touching on how she would like her career to be remembered, Williams said her unique passion and fire is at the forefront.

"I mean, there's so many things to be remembered by," she said. "Like the fight. I'm such a fighter. 

"I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity. I think that obviously the passion, I think, is a really good word.

"Just continuing through ups and downs. I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment, and that I'm Serena."

Serena Williams was emotional during her post-match interview in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium after her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, thanking her family for their decades of support.

Williams ended up going down in a match that lasted three hours and seven minutes, with a 15-minute final game where Williams saved five match points illustrating her fighting spirit down to the last moments.

If this is her final US Open – which she was hesitant to confirm – she will finish with the most main draw wins ever at the tournament with 108, and her 23 grand slam titles are also the most of all-time.

Speaking on the court after Tomljanovic gladly ceded the floor to the legend, Williams turned her attention immediately to her family as she reflected on the journey to this point.

"Thank you, Daddy. I know you're watching," she said as she began to tear up. "Thanks, Mom… I thank everyone that's here, that's been on my side so many years, decades. Oh, my gosh, literally decades.

"But it all started with my parents – they deserve everything. So I'm really grateful for them. These are happy tears, I guess. I don't know.

"And I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you, Venus. She's the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed."

She added: "It's been a fun ride. It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on, I mean, in my life.

"I'm just so grateful to every single person that's ever said 'go, Serena' in their life. I'm just so grateful."

When asked if this would definitely be her last US Open, Williams was hesitant due to how well she performed, and left the question unanswered.

"I mean, I'm literally playing my way into this and getting better – I should have started sooner this year," she said with a laugh.

"I don't think so, but you never know. I don't know."

Serena Williams' last US Open has come to an end in the third round, going down 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 against Ajla Tomlanovic on Friday night.

It was a rough start for Williams, getting her serve broken in the first game of the match, but she got it straight back with a break-to-love by utilising her stunning power.

While her power brought her some easy points, it was also her undoing at times, with 16 unforced errors in the first set compared to 10 winners.

After securing another break to go up 5-3, serving for the opening set, Williams could not finish it off, losing the next four games in a row as Tomljanovic found a way to extend points and turn them into grinding rallies.

Not disheartened, Williams came out on fire in the second set, ripping off the first four games, but Tomljanovic again fought back. From 5-2 down, the Australian surged to level things at 5-5 before forcing a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, Williams worked her way to a 5-4 lead, and took two consecutive mini-breaks to send the crowd into raptures and the match to a deciding set.

But where world number two Anett Kontaveit folded in Williams' last match, Tomljanovic did not, responding instantly after having her serve broken in the opening game to take the next five in a row, with a chance to serve things out at 5-1.

The crowd tried to will the living legend back into the contest, saving the first five of Tomljanovic's match points as she refused to go down easily, but she was not able to convert either of her three break point opportunities in a final game that lasted nearly 15 minutes, ultimately going down on the sixth match point.

After a collective groan in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium, the crowd rose to their feet to pay their respect to the greatest women's tennis player of all time in her final outing at the US Open, as she treated the crowd to one more of her famous twirls at the grand slam she has won six times.

Data Slam: Six-time champion Serena leaves behind records that will stand the test of time

Williams finishes her US Open career with the seven more main draw wins than any other player, male or female. Her 108 wins leads Chris Evert (101), Jimmy Connors (98), Martina Navrilova (89) and Roger Federer (89).

She is also one of five players – along with Navrilova, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – to spend at least 300 weeks as the world number one, and her 23 career grand slam titles is the most of any player, leading Steffi Graf (22) and Nadal (22).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Williams – 49/51

Tomljanovic – 32/30

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Williams – 11/7

Tomljanovic – 3/9 

BREAK POINTS WON

Williams – 5/13

Tomljanovic – 8/13

Coco Gauff admitted it would be a "lifelong dream" to face Serena Williams at the US Open, in what is likely to be the latter's final tournament of a glittering career.

Gauff reached the second week at Flushing Meadows in the women's singles for the first time after cruising to a 6-2-6-3 win over Madison Keys on Friday.

The number 12 seed saw off her fellow American in composed fashion to book her place in the last 16, exceeding her previous best result at the US Open in 2019.

Gauff was largely in control against the number 20 seed Keys to deliver near-flawless performance, chasing a second grand slam final of the year after finishing as runner-up at the French Open to Iga Swiatek.

She will face China's Zhang Shuai in the next round, but when asked if she will watch Williams' match against Ajla Tomljanovic later in the day during her on-court interview, Gauff said she would, adding: "It's been amazing watching Serena's matches so far. I don't know when I'd be due to face her but that's the goal.

"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to do that. Five years ago yesterday I was watching Venus and Serena play here. It's crazy to be on this court now.

"I tried to flex to my friends that I had courtside seats, now I'm on the court!"

Should both remain in the tournament, Gauff and Williams would face each other in the semi-finals.

Gauff also paid tribute to Keys, and to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, saying: "[The win] means a lot to me... I missed my alarm and was so late. I was here until 9pm last night and lost a doubles match [with Jessica Pegula].

"Kudos to my team, they got me up for it.

"I wasn't sure how the crowd was going to go. We all love Madison... I'm good friends with her off the court, but having support here meant a lot."

Andy Murray has admitted he is "surprised" to still be able to compete against top-level opponents given his injury history.

The 2012 US Open champion exited this year's competition following a third-round defeat to 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, though he did take the tie to four sets.

Having lost the first two sets, Murray fought back to win the tiebreaker in the third but his valiant attempts were ended by the Italian in the fourth, who sets up a round of 16 clash against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Despite the loss, Murray was pleased with his performance at the tournament and encouraged by his ability to still go toe-to-toe with the likes of Berrettini.

"I've got a metal hip. It's not easy playing with that. It's really difficult. I'm surprised I'm still able to compete with guys that are right up at the top of the game," he said after the match.

"Matches like this, you know, I'm really proud that I have worked myself into a position where I'm able to do that. I'm really disappointed that I didn't get over the line today. 

"But I get reminded like 'this is the first time you've made the third round here since 2016'. It's been six years. It's been a difficult six years for me. It's been really hard.

"Although it's the first time I've only made the third round here, I'm really proud of that effort that I put in to get myself back into these positions. So, I'm hoping that in the future I can go further, but considering, I did all right."

Murray went on to explain how things feel differently for him on the court, identifying he cannot move in the same way Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic still can.

"A lot of the things feel the same, but obviously I'm just not quite capable of the sort of movement and physicality that I was five, six years ago. I mean, that's pretty obvious. You know, I shouldn't expect to be," he said.

"I think if you watch Rafa and Novak moving around the court now who are similar age, I think they're moving pretty similar to how they were five, six years ago, whereas for me there's obviously been a bit of a drop-off there.

"That can affect you in terms of how you have to play the points. Maybe you just don't track as many balls down as before. Maybe the reach isn't just quite as much as it was.

"But in terms of the shots and everything, there is nothing that is stopping me from hitting the same shots as I did before."

Ons Jabeur has now made it to the second week in all four grand slams after her win over Shelby Rogers at the US Open.

Jabeur, the fifth seed at Flushing Meadows, had previously fallen short of making the second week in the season's final grand slam, having reached the third round in three successive years between 2019 and 2021.

But the Tunisian world number five ended that wait with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat of American Rogers.

Jabeur reached the final at Wimbledon this year, her first appearance in a major showpiece match, but lost to Elena Rybakina.

She has made it to the fourth round of the grand slams six times, having managed quarter-final runs at Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2020).

Another US Open fourth-round debutant awaits Jabeur in the form of Veronika Kudermetova, who despatched Dalma Galfi 6-2 6-0. 

Kudermetova's victory took just 46 minutes, making it the shortest match of the tournament.

Serena and Venus Williams saw hopes of one last US Open glory run together scuppered by a Czech pair who apologised for knocking out the American superstars.

The Williams sisters lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the doubles match given top billing in the New York night session.

Such scheduling had previously been unheard of, but such is the attention being foisted on the sisters that first-round doubles encounter was the match everyone wanted to see, knowing it could well be the last time the siblings play as a team.

Serena has indicated, albeit couched in somewhat vague terms, that this US Open will be her farewell to tennis. Venus, now 42, may follow suit and also retire from the sport.

While 40-year-old Serena remains in the singles, having beaten world number two Anett Kontaveit in round two to set up a Friday night clash with Ajla Tomljanovic, the dream of one more Flushing Meadows doubles title is over.

It was Czech-out time for the duo who have won 14 grand slam doubles titles together, and Hradecka said sorry to the partisan crowd for spoiling the party.

"I'm still in shock that we won, because we were playing for the first time with each other and I think we did a very good job," Hradecka said.

"I'm so sorry for you that we beat them, but we are so happy that we did it."

Hradecka had been planning on playing with Indian Sania Mirza, but an injury for Mirza put paid to that idea, meaning a new partner was required.

Noskova, 17, answered the 37-year-old Hradecka's call, and enjoyed a night to remember.

"Playing against the Williams sisters is a special moment for everybody, anytime," Noskova said.

"I was really lucky I could play with my doubles partner and we could win and pull out a good fight."

It was the Williams' first doubles match at a grand slam since the 2018 French Open, and their first at the US Open since 2014, and although it was a tight contest the younger pair just had the edge.

Neither sister gave an on-court interview or a press conference after the match, with all eyes now turning towards Serena's singles campaign, and the possibility of that extending deep into the second week.

Rafael Nadal feared he had broken his nose after being struck by his own racquet in the second-round win over Fabio Fognini at the US Open.

The Spaniard, seeking a 23rd grand slam title, once again recovered from losing the opening set to claim a 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 triumph at Flushing Meadows.

He will now face Richard Gasquet after extending his winning streak at majors in 2022 to 21 matches.

But he will hope the pain from a nasty-looking injury has subsided by then, with Nadal's racquet having bounced off the court and into his nose while he was stretching to make a return in the fourth set.

The world number three needed a medical timeout and treatment, returning with a plaster on his face as the incident ultimately did little to slow his momentum.

"It was just a strong hit," said Nadal. "At the beginning I thought I had broken the nose because it was a shock at the beginning. It was very painful.

"I lost a little bit of the feeling in my head. It was like being a little bit out of this world.

"I don't know, it seems like it is not broken. I am not sure yet. I don't know. I think it's getting bigger and bigger."

For the second match in succession, Nadal had to come from a set behind, having also lost the opener to first-round opponent Rinky Hijikata.

Having struggled to find his rhythm early on, the 36-year-old was pleased that his persistence paid off.

"I'm happy after a terrible start. I don't understand yet how I started that bad because the feeling before the match was good," he said, the win having secured his spot at the ATP Finals for a 17th time.

"But these kind of things sometimes happen, so you need to accept and keep going. That's what I did.

"I'm lucky that Fabio made some mistakes and I was able to start putting some balls in and finish the match playing obviously better, much better."

For a moment it seemed Rafael Nadal was in danger of a premature exit from the US Open against Fabio Fognini on Thursday but he steadied to improve his 2022 grand slam record to 21-0.

Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open titles earlier this year, but an abdominal injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon at the semi-final stage, handing Nick Kyrgios a passage to the decider won by Novak Djokovic.

The 22-time major champion is on a mission to make it three from four grand slam titles this calendar year in Djokovic's absence in New York.

The 36-year-old Spaniard will take on veteran Richard Gasquet next in the third round, whom Nadal boasts a remarkable 17-0 head-to-head record against.

Nadal's 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 win over Fognini also meant he became the first player to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin too.

But the current world number three has bigger fish to fry, needing to maintain his perfect 2022 record at majors for a fifth US Open crown.

If he succeeds, Nadal will not quite claim a calendar Grand Slam - achieved only by five players in singles history in Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962, 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) - but he would have achieved a staggering 26-0 record at majors for 2022.