Former champion Marat Safin came through a tough opener at the U.S. Open on Thursday to beat in-form Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic 7-5 7-6 7-6 in their first round match.
The Russian, who won the title in 2000 and is seeded 25th this year, battled back from 5-2 down in the second set and saved a set point in the third-set tiebreak to advance after two hours, 25 minutes.
World number 69 Dancevic, who reached the quarter-finals of the Montreal Masters Series this month, served for both the second and third sets but could not close out the win.
Safin clinched victory with his 19th ace and now plays either fellow-Russian Evgeny Korolev or Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
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