World number one, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, had to put a lot of effort to earn his place in the second round of 2008 US Open tennis tournament on August 25 2008.

Surprisingly for many, Nadal faced strong resistance from qualifier Bjorn Phau from Germany, who is ranked 136th in the world.  A week and a half after he won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games Nadal was three points away from losing his first set at the Arthur Ashe stadium.

The service, which is known to be one of Nadal's strong sides, proved worthless against the brilliant returns of the German. Nadal's class, however, got the better of Phau and the Spaniard won after almost three hours of play in three sets (7-6, 6-3, 7-6).

In the end, Phau showed remained satisfied with the match, despite the loss. "I proved that I could challenge the world number one," he was quoted as saying by world media.

This was his biggest achievement so far since the only victory the 28-year-old German has scored against a top 10 player was in 2006 over Andre Agassi in Dubai.

For Nadal it was simple: "I didn't play with normal intensity, I play a little bit less intensity than last few months for sure. Important thing, final, is win," he was quoted as saying on the US Open website after the game.

His next opponent will be another qualifier, American Ryler De Heart.

While Nadal can have a break after his first match, his main opponent for the title, world number two Roger Federer is yet to play his first round match against Argentina's Maximo Gonzales.