WATCH: "I am very anxious" - Conversation between Rafael Nadal and coach Carlos Moya during the Spaniard's US Open 2R win against Fabio Fognini

Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round of the 2022 US Open on Thursday but not before being pushed to the limit by his opponent Fabio Fognini, particularly in the opening two sets. Nadal, who could not find his feet at all for the better part of those two sets, admitted his state of anxiety to his coach and good friend Carlos Moya during the second set.

The Spaniard's serve was broken twice in the opening set before he went down an early break in the second set. As things were going way off plan to that point, Nadal gestured towards his player's box where Moya and assistant coach Francisco Roig were seated with the rest of the contingent.

"I am very anxious," Nadal said to Carlos Moya at 2-6, 1-2 (30-40) in the second set," Nadal told Moya in Spanish.

Moya, a former World No. 1 himself, then asked his pupil to relax and shared some words of encouragement.

"It'll come, it'll come," Moya said, asking Nadal to retain his focus.

Fognini rushed to a 4-2 lead in the second set but the 22-time Grand Slam champion quickly found the form he was looking for, winning the next four games to clinch the set and level proceedings. The four-time US Open champion never let go of the momentum thereafter and won the third set 6-2 to take the lead for the first time on the night.

Returning Fognini's serve at 3-0 in the fourth set, the Spaniard suffered a freak injury as his racquet ricocheted off the ground and hit him on the nose, leaving it bloody, and the on-court doctor quickly treated the injury. He felt briefly unsettled after the hit but held his nerves to close out the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.

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"One of the worst starts probably ever" - Rafael Nadal on his second-round match

Rafael Nadal is through to the third round of the 2022 US Open.

After going through a challenging match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Rafael Nadal revealed that he experienced one of his worst starts to a match. However, his experience has taught him to expect such moments on the court and the Spaniard also stated how he worked through the situation.

"For more than one hour and a half I was not competing," he said in his on-court interview after the match. "One of the worst starts probably ever, but yeah, that's part of the game, you know? You need to stay humble, you need to accept the situations."

He further highlighted his game plan to change things around, which was to extend the rallies and keep himself in the points before going for more attacking shots as he started to find a lot more rhythm.

"Well, I was trying to go for the shots since the beginning but the shots were not there today. To go for the shots and I needed to be on the rhythm, to start to hit balls to the middle without risk, just feel myself when I'm hitting the ball. I start to put three to four balls inside, then you can start to go for the shots," he added.

The 36-year-old will face Richard Gasquet in the next round, against whom he has won all 17 matches they have played on the ATP tour. The Spaniard's latest win against Gasquet came in the second round of the 2021 French Open. Meanwhile, he is expected to recover from his nose injury ahead of the third-round match.

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