ESPN 2008 US Open

NEW YORK -- Olympic champion Rafael Nadal showed his mettle at the U.S. Open, overcoming an early challenge to win Monday in the start of what's expected to be a wide-open tournament.

First Slam at No. 1

The U.S. Open is Rafael Nadal's first Grand Slam as the world's No. 1 player. How men ranked No. 1 for the first time have fared in their first Grand Slam, since 1988:

Player	Became No. 1	First Slam	Result
Rafael Nadal	Aug. 18, 2008	U.S. Open	?
Roger Federer	Feb. 2, 2004	French Open	Third round
Andy Roddick	Nov. 3, 2003	Australian Open	Quarterfinals
Lleyton Hewitt	Nov. 19, 2001	Australian	First round
Gustavo Kuerten	Dec. 4, 2000	Australian	Second round
Yevgeny Kafelnikov	May 3, 1999	French	Second round
Andre Agassi	April 10, 1995	French	Quarterfinals
Pete Sampras	April 12, 1993	French	Quarterfinals
Jim Courier	Feb. 10, 1992	French	Champion
Stefan Edberg	Aug. 13, 1990	U.S.	First round
Mats Wilander	Sept. 12, 1988	Australian	Second round

Playing for the first time as the world No. 1, Nadal swatted his very first shot wide against No. 136 Bjorn Phau. The Wimbledon and French Open champ was two points from dropping the first set when he surged, and, despite needing to bandage a nasty blister, won 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4).

"I didn't play with normal intensity," Nadal said. "Probably I'm a little bit tired."

Asked whether he was more worn down mentally, physically or emotionally from Beijing, he said: "I think it is a little bit of everything."

Nadal got a stiffer test from the German qualifier than many anticipated and shook his head near the end of a match that lasted nearly three hours.

No. 9 seed James Blake had to play past midnight to survive a five-set match against 19-year-old fellow American Donald Young. With the help of two key calls overturned on challenges in the last two games, Blake won 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Young, the former No. 1 junior player in the world, came back from down a break to win the fourth set. Serving with the final set tied 4-4, he seemed to have the momentum.

"Donald really picked up his game and really played great toward end of the match," said Blake, who committed 50 unforced errors in the match.

But Blake took control after he successfully challenged to take a point away from Young at the start of the game. Blake went on to break Young to go up 5-4 and then served out the match. He successfully challenged again in the last game to reach triple match point.

"Maybe a little experience came through for me at 4-all in the last set," Blake said.

The final Grand Slam event of the season figured to be a scramble.

Nadal seems like the natural favorite but has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in five previous tries at Flushing Meadows. The 22-year-old Spanish dynamo took awhile to find his rhythm against Phau, whose spirited play made him a crowd favorite.

Fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, often quiet during early daytime sessions, cheered when Phau dived for a shot, rolled over on his back and chased a return.

Nadal surprisingly gifted a break with a double-fault when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third before claiming the tiebreak 7-4.

"To win in three sets is always a good result," he said. "I had some difficult moments, so that's going to help me a little bit to be prepared for the pressure moments [later in the tournament]. I played well today when I had the pressure moments."

[+] Enlarge

Elsa/Getty ImagesRafael Nadal was two points from losing the first set to a qualifier in his first match as the world No. 1.

Nadal said he was still battling to shake off the effects of jet lag after securing Olympic gold in Beijing.

"I am a little bit tired, yes, but it is the U.S. Open so I have to try my best here," the muscular left-hander added.

The Spaniard has extended his win-loss record to a remarkable 71-8 this year, including eight titles and far more matches than any of his competitors have played.

Although not playing at his best on Monday, Nadal paid tribute to the quality of Phau's game.

"I think I helped him a little bit to play to this level but he's a good player and he played well today," he said.

Phau, who played mainly on the Challenger circuit this year, was delighted with his own performance in front of a large, passionate crowd.

"I learned that I could play with the No. 1 in the world," the 28-year-old qualifier said. "I had my chances but I missed too much. It was really fun to play in front of a big crowd."

Nadal will next meet American qualifier Ryler de Heart, a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 winner over Belgian Olivier Rochus.

Roger Federer, bidding for his fifth straight U.S. Open title, was scheduled to begin Tuesday.

Britain's Andy Murray marched into the second round and then said he felt his hard work off the court had made him a genuine threat to win his first Grand Slam title.

The Scot, seeded sixth, was in dominant form as he cruised past Argentine Sergio Roitman 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 to set up a match with Frenchman Michael Llodra, a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) winner over Teimuraz Gabashvili.

At the end of last year, Murray went to Florida in the offseason and increased the intensity of his training, working hard in the gym to lift his fitness levels.

The work has already paid off with three titles in 2008, including his first Masters Series crown in Cincinnati last month.

His victory over world No. 3 Novak Djokovic, in the Cincinnati final, was his second over the Serb in successive weeks, having lost the first four matches against him.

"I think a lot of things go into having the ability to win a Slam," Murray said. "Talent gets you to a certain level and then the hard work starts to kick in, and if you're not putting in the hard work, you're not going to get the opportunities to win a Grand Slam.

Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesNinth seed James Blake needed nearly three hours to beat unseeded Donald Young and reach the second round.

"I've really stepped up my work load off the court and started traveling with a fitness trainer. I think that's the big difference in my game and the reason why I have the potential to come through and win a Slam," he said.

Federer's relative slump this year -- the former world No. 1 has not won a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002 -- has left the men's event far more open than in recent years.

Nadal, Djokovic and Murray are the leading challengers to take the U.S. Open crown from Federer and the Scot said more players now believed the Swiss could be beaten.

"I think even though Federer was still the favorite for Wimbledon, there were still guys that had a chance of doing some damage there," Murray said. "I think it's really exciting for tennis. There's obviously quite a few guys that have the potential to win it.

"I'd still say Federer is one of the favorites but, in terms of being unbeatable, I think that's a mindset that isn't great if you're going on the court believing that you can't win against someone," he said. "I think it's taken a few of the top guys to see Federer lose to lower-ranked players to start believing they can win against him.

"I still think Federer is playing great tennis, but the mindset of the other players has changed because he's lost more this year than he has in the past," Murray said.

The three Americans in action early Monday had mixed results. Germany's Andreas Beck took out John Isner 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3), while Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan beat Brendan Evans 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Wayne Odesnik, meanwhile, was a 2-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Fabio Fognini of Italy.

Tenth seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who helped Federer fulfill his Olympic dream by winning the doubles crown in Beijing, beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-3.

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Roitman's compatriot David Nalbandian enjoyed better fortune, overcoming Brazilian Marcos Daniel 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain beat Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2 and No. 32 Gael Monfils downed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. No. 16 Gilles Simon of France was a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 winner over Marcel Granollers of Spain, while No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro rallied past Guillermo Canas 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-4, 6-1.

Early upset victims were No. 27 Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who lost to Jurgen Melzer of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, and No. 29-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina, who lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

In other action, Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Australia's Carsten Ball 7-6 (3), 6-0, 6-1; Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic rallied past Stephane Bohli of Switzerland 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5; Evgeny Korolev of Russia beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (9); and Argentina's Jose Acasuso rolled past Michael Berrer of Germany 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.