Nadal rampant at US Open as Thiem, Tsitsipas lead exodus

Rafael Nadal launched his tilt at a fourth US Open title Tuesday with a swift defeat of John Millman as other leading seeds in his half of the draw tumbled out in the first round.

Four players in the world’s top 10 -- Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Roberto Bautista Agut -- lost Tuesday to ease Nadal’s potential path to the final.

The Spanish second seed -- US Open champion in 2010, 2013 and 2017 -- needed barely two hours to see Millman off 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the world number 60 from Australia unable to reproduce the magic that saw him stun Roger Federer here a year ago.