Games weary Nadal and Dementieva battle on

By Pritha Sarkar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Beijing gold medalists Rafael Nadal and Elena Dementieva shook off their Olympic hangovers on Monday to stumble into the second round of the U.S. Open.

As the newly-crowned world number one, Nadal would have been expected to flatten a qualifier ranked 136th in the world.

But the Spaniard's exertions over the past few weeks, where he made a flying visit to the Chinese capital to add the Games title to his triumphs at the French Open and Wimbledon, appeared to have caught up with him as he struggled to a 7-6 6-3 7-6 win over Germany's Bjorn Phau.

"The problem is playing Toronto, Cincinnati and Beijing, then coming back here. In two weeks, two times, 12 hours' jet lag," said Nadal, who ended Roger Federer's record run of 237 consecutive weeks at the top last Monday.

"I'm a little bit more tired than I usually am but, at the same time, I must be very happy how I did this year."

Dementieva, after finally getting her hands on a major title, also found it difficult to break free from the Olympic bubble.

She snapped back to attention in the nick of time to come from 5-3 down in the second set, saving two set points, before beating Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzhbekistan 6-4 7-5.

Eight days after pulling off the greatest win of her career, Dementieva admitted she was still pinching herself.

"I was holding (the medal) for three days, to make sure it's not a dream. It's real," said the Russian fifth seed.

"It's really very hard not to think about the Olympic Games. Yesterday I was trying to go to sleep but I couldn't because... my mind is still there."

Phau must have also experienced a sleepless night at the prospect of facing the imposing figure of Nadal across the net.

NERVELESS DISPLAY

But once he stepped on to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, he put in a nerveless display to rattle the Spaniard.

Nadal eventually revealed his iron will to end Phau's brave challenge in just under three hours.

Ninth seed James Blake may also have suffered from Beijing fatigue, needing five sets to subdue 19-year-old fellow American Donald Young 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4 to bring the curtain down on the opening day's play.