Nadal advances to third round

In a U.S. Open already rife with upsets, No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal seemed destined for the same ignominious fate. Then the top-ranked player turned on his A-game and turned destiny around.

Nadal rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 secondround win over Taro Daniel. After six of the Top 15 seeds already had been knocked off by underdogs — and Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both out with injuries — Nadal made sure the 121st-ranked Daniel wouldn’t be the dog to take him out.

“Of course all the matches are different, especially here,” Nadal said in a televised postmatch interview. “Everybody wants to play the best, and if you don’t play your best it’s very difficult.

“For me it’s a very important victory. But I’m thrilled I’m through to the next round to have more chances to improve.”

Nadal, 31, was broken in the ninth game of the first set, with Daniel hitting 11 winners en route to serving out the first set 6-4 in 53 minutes. The 24-year-old from Japan broke Nadal to go up 2-1 in the second set, but facing adversity, Nadal hit a nasty forehand winner down the line to break back. He broke again with a forehand winner to go up 5-3 and served out the set.

The Spaniard wasn’t his clean, crisp self, with 37 unforced errors — two dozen in the first two sets. But he was ruthless when needed, and took the final two sets 6-2 each to stave off the upset bid.