Tennis: Rafael Nadal beats Denis Istomin at US Open

Rafael Nadal coasted into the second round of the US Open on his return to grand slam action by beating Denis Istomin in straight sets on day one.

The 14-time grand slam champion missed Wimbledon after withdrawing from the French Open due to a wrist injury, but won a gold medal in the doubles at the Olympic Games this month and lost in the semi-finals of the singles.

Fourth seed Nadal made light work of reaching round two at Flushing Meadows, seeing off world number 107 Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1 6-4 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a one-sided match on Monday.

The two-time US Open champion had a blip in the second set, losing three games in a row to be pegged back at 4-4, but moved well around the court and did not appear to be troubled by his wrist as he sealed victory in only two hours and six minutes.

Nadal was a class apart from the unseeded Istomin on a hot day in New York, breaking seven times to set up a second-round encounter with Andreas Seppi.

Istomin made 39 unforced errors and coughed up seven double faults, with Nadal, who has been unable to go beyond the third round in his last four grand slam appearances, failing to hold only once in an encouraging start to the last major of the year.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Nadal [4] bt Istomin 6-1 6-4 6-2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

ACES

BREAK POINTS WON

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE

TOTAL POINTS