Rafael Nadal needed nearly three hours to crack the code of Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili with the Spanish top seed beginning the US Open Tuesday with a fighting 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win.

The world number one is bidding to complete a career Grand Slam and needs to win a first New York title to do so. Nadal has stalled at the semi-finals for the past two years.

Nadal missed on his early break chances as Gabashvili hung tough, with the Spanish seed finally converting of two from ten, enough to secure the opening win.

“It was a very tough match. He played well,” said the winner. “My serve worked well tonight. I hope it continues like this.

“It’s not my best shot but I’m trying to improve it if I ever want to win a title here in any year.

Novak Djokovic struggled with 42-Celsius heat on his way to ousting fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, taking almost four hours.

The third seed had to overcome 23 aces from his compatriot and Davis Cup teammate Troicki, who committed nearly 60 unforced errors.

“I’ve been in those situations before, a long match in very difficult conditions, feeling very exhausted,” said the winner. “You start panicking a little bit when you don’t feel great physically.

“Then your opponent takes the advantage — it’s not easy. Those moments are very challenging for an athlete. But I overcame it once again, this is what matters most to me.” Two more Spanish seeds moved through, with number eight Fernando Verdasco ending a five-set battle 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 over Italian Fabio Fognini. David Ferrer, the number 10, defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

Women’s former number one Jelena Jankovic survived a patchy effort against Romanian outsider Simona Halep, winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Jankovic, who reached the 2008 New York final, is well off her best form, winning just one of four hard—court matches this summer.