U.S. OPEN MEN'S ROUNDUP

updated 2:55 p.m. ET Sept. 1, 2005

NEW YORK - Remember the name — Scoville Jenkins — and file away his game as one to watch in the future.

He’s fast, he’s flamboyant and he gave French Open champion Rafael Nadal fits in a compelling duel between 19-year-olds before fading to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 defeat late Wednesday in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Jenkins, from Atlanta, came into the Open courtesy of a wild card and won his first Grand Slam match in the first round after four hours and five sets against qualifier George Bastl. With his dreadlocks flapping as he dashed around the court in a swirling wind against Nadal, the net-charging Jenkins showed he can be dangerous even when he faces the top players on the tour.

“I stepped up,” said Jenkins, who is ranked 350 spots behind Nadal. “It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can be right there with the No. 2 one day.”

Nadal needed all his speed to catch up to Jenkins’ drop volleys and baseline shots. The slim difference between them in each of the three sets was attributable to the Spaniard’s greater consistency and the price Jenkins paid for his daring. Jenkins hit nearly twice as many winners — 45 to Nadal’s 23 — but had far more unforced errors — 49-13 — in a match that was delayed by rain for more than an hour and ended at 12:47 a.m.

One call in the second set made a huge difference. Jenkins was serving at 5-5, 30-love, when a forehand pass by Nadal was called good. Jenkins, standing near the ball, argued that it was wide, and the fans booing the call agreed with him. Replays appeared to show that the ball was, indeed, wide. But the call stood and the rattled Jenkins double-faulted on the next point, then lost two more for the crucial break that gave Nadal a 6-5 lead he didn’t waste.

“He has a very good future,” Nadal said. “I needed to play 100 percent to win this match.”

Jenkins needed the help of a trainer after the second set to treat a torn toenail. Now Jenkins hopes he can also get some help with a deal from a shoe company.

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“Shoes that won’t break my toenail off, that would be great,” he said.

In men’s day matches, former champ and No. 3 seed Lleyton Hewitt won in straight sets, and No. 15 Dominik Hrbaty, No. 17 David Ferrer and No. 25 Taylor Dent all advanced.

With the wind gusting up to 36 mph and blowing around everything that wasn’t nailed down, Hewitt wanted to finish his match as quickly as possible.

And win, of course.

Hewitt accomplished both goals, romping to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 first-round victory over Albert Costa.

“It was just extremely difficult conditions,” Hewitt said. “You want to get it under your belt, get into the tournament and get back into the locker room as quickly as possible.”

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Temperatures heated up again at the Open, with the thermometer reading 86 degrees at midday. But it was the wind that was the big problem, gusting and swirling and making the simplest of shots look like something quite different.

Costa, who hadn’t played a hard-court match since the Australian Open, seemed particularly flustered. He had to pause before serving several times, and there were a couple of points where he looked mystified at where the ball was going.

“I think I just handled the conditions better,” Hewitt said. “I don’t think these kind of conditions suit his game.”

Hewitt had won five of his previous six meetings with Costa, but the two haven’t played each other since 2002. No matter. Hewitt raced out to an early lead, dropping only two points as he took the first three games of the first set, and Costa never recovered.

The 2002 French Open winner had only two break points the entire match, and couldn’t convert either. Hewitt, on the other hand, converted seven of 11 breaks, including three in the last set. He had 23 winners to Costa’s nine, and only 17 unforced errors. Costa made 35 errors, double-faulted five times and had no aces.

“Maybe the situation has changed because I’m playing at my worst level now,” Costa said. “I saw him many times and I think he’s playing much better now.”

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Hewitt was in such control he didn’t even need to yell at himself. Or anyone else. The Australian is known for his boisterous on-court antics, with his trademark move a shout of “Come on!” while pointing his fingers at his head. But with new wife Bec Cartwright sitting in the stands, he was on his best behavior. Some raucous Aussie fans in the upper deck made more noise.

Costa has now lost in the first round at his last five Grand Slam events. He missed Wimbledon with a knee injury that required surgery, and the 30-year-old said after the match that retirement is an option.

“I want to finish this season and then decide,” he said. “If I finish, I finish altogether. I can’t play only on clay.”

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