Player of the Day: Nakashima wins Grand Slam debut

Every day of the US Open, Baseline will feature a player of the day for his or her commendable efforts in New York City.

In his Grand Slam debut as a wild card, 19-year-old Brandon Nakashima came through on Monday by taking out veteran Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

"It definitely was a great feeling to get that win out there even though it was on one of the outside courts with no fans there watching ," Nakashima told press. "But nevertheless, it definitely was special and getting that first win was just great for my game."

Earlier this year, Nakashima made his ATP debut in Delray Beach and reached the quarterfinals. He'd spend the shutdown training hard with coaches Pat Cash and Dusan Vemic, before helping the Chicago Smash reach the World TeamTennis final.

The world No. 223 had said he was hopeful to receive a wild card into his home Slam, and not only did he earn one of the coveted spots but he got to come to New York early to play the Western & Southern Open. In qualifying, he'd fall to Marton Fucsovics.

Fast Facts:

19

Nakashima's age, having just celebrated a birthday on August 3.

3-1

His ATP career record after turning pro in 2019.

43

The number of winners he hit against Lorenzi (who hit 21).

The teen had over a week to regroup and reset for his big moment, though it's not quite as he'd imagined. The American's dream is to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Roger Federer, and surely he expected a crowd would be there for that.

"I think I would want to have [my first win] at the US Open because I'm American," Nakashima said. "It's just a special feeling coming here every year, first time playing main draw for the men's was definitely a great experience for me and I couldn’t be happier."

There's still time yet for the youngster, and he's got a lot more tennis to play this week as he moves on to the second round to face off against No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev.