Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata faces second seed Rafael Nadal in his US Open main-draw debut. He is one of six Australians in action on day two.
New York, USA, 30 August 2022 | Matt Trollope and Leigh Rogers
Aussie young gun Rinky Hijikata will make his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the US Open with the eyes of the world watching.
The 21-year-old has drawn Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, the 22-time major champion and second seed who, with a good result in New York, could reclaim the world No.1 ranking.
The closest Hijikata had previously come to the main draw of a Slam was at Wimbledon this year, where he reached the final round of qualifying.
After receiving a wildcard to compete at Flushing Meadows, the world No.198’s draw ensured his debut will be as memorable as they come.
“Obviously it’s a pretty exciting draw, it’s not often you get to play one of the greats of the game and someone of that calibre. So I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” Hijikata told tennis.com.au.
“I kind of see it as a positive thing. I like to put myself in challenging matches and situations like that.”
Hijikata’s match against Nadal has been scheduled in prime time on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium (9am Wednesday AEST).
He will take on Nadal having won seven of his past nine matches leading in, and recently cracking the top 200, after beginning the season at No.375.
He has played 60 matches, and won 40, in an impressive first full season on tour after deferring his studies at the University of North Carolina.
One of his most notable performances came recently in Los Cabos, where he qualified for the main draw then won his first tour-level main-draw match, before losing to world No.1 Daniil Medvedev.
“I think that match was pretty special,” Hijikata said of the 6-4 6-3 defeat, “because it was the first time I’d gotten to play a player of that calibre and in an atmosphere like that.
“It was a lot of fun playing; obviously I would have loved it if the result was a little bit different. But those are the matches you dream of playing.
“I hope my experience there will hold me in good stead here (against Nadal) and hopefully I can settle the nerves a little bit quicker and hopefully build my way into the match.”
Hijikata is one of six Australians in action on day two at Flushing Meadows.
The US Open is broadcast on the Nine Network and Stan Sport in Australia, with coverage beginning from 1am…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis.com.au – Tennis Australia…