Nadal sends Ferrer into Slam retirement
Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal sent close friend David Ferrer into Grand Slam retirement on Monday when his veteran compatriot was forced to quit their first round match with injury, but former winners Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka made successful returns to New York.
Ferrer, a former world No.3 but now standing at a lowly 148, called it quits on a hot and humid night on Arthur Ashe Stadium despite leading 4-3 with a break in the second set after twice receiving treatment on a left leg injury.
Top seed Nadal had taken the opener 6-3.
“This is my last Grand Slam,” said Ferrer who was runner-up to Nadal in the 2013 French Open final.
“I have great memories of this tournament and I am just sorry that I couldn’t finish it tonight.” Ferrer, 36, will play his last tournament on home ground in Madrid next year.
“I am very sorry for David and sad for him,” said Nadal. “We are close friends and have shared great moments — the Roland Garros final and Davis Cup wins.
“He is one of the greatest players to have come from our country. He’s a great person and great player.”
Nadal next faces Denis Kudla of the United States who won his first match in five years at the tournament when he downed Matteo Berrettini of Italy 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
Former world number one Murray marked his first Grand Slam tournament in 14 months with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over Australia’s James Duckworth.
Murray, the 2012 champion and playing just his fifth tournament of the year after undergoing hip surgery in January, last featured in a major at Wimbledon in 2017.
Wawrinka, the 2016 champion, swept to a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium to repeat his opening round triumph over Dimitrov at Wimbledon.
South African fifth seed Kevin Anderson, the 2017 US Open runner-up to Nadal, also needed a medical timeout for a leg injury in the third set of his clash with Ryan Harrison of the United States.
But Anderson, defeated in the Wimbledon final last month by Novak Djokovic, recovered to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In the women’s section, Serena Williams made a triumphant return to the US Open, opening her bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-0 first-round victory over Magda Linette.
Williams, a six-time champion at Flushing Meadows, missed last year’s edition as she gave birth to daughter Olympia on September 1.
She was all-business on her return under the floodlights on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, where she has lifted the trophy six times. She next faces Germany’s Carina Witthoeft, with a possible thirdround clash with 16th-seeded sister Venus in the offing.
Top seed Simona Halep’s campaign was cut short in the first round after losing to Kaia Kanepi, who needed just two sets to score the first big upset of the season’s last Grand Slam at 6-2, 6-4.