In the fourth set of his second round match at Flushing Meadows, Rafael Nadal suffered a blow to the nose from his racket. In going for a backhand, the racket hit the court and bounced up into his face. Although this broke his concentration and he lost six consecutive points against Italian Fabio Fognini, Nadal completed a four-set victory 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 42 minutes.
As in the first round, he lost the opening set and was in danger of going two sets to love down, recovering from 2-4 in the second.
In the third round of the US Open, he will meet France's Richard Gasquet, to whom he has never lost, holding a 17-0 record.