New York, September 1:

French Open champion Rafael Nadal reached the third round of the US Open tennis championships here on Wednesday with a tough 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over tenacious US teenager Scoville Jenkins.

In a match delayed for more than an hour by rain, the second-seeded Spani-ard found himself on the defensive against Jenkins, a wild card playing in his fifth ATP Tour level event and second Grand Slam. Nadal showed little of his usual flair, combatting Jenkins and the tricky winds with a largely defensive approach.

The difficult winds were a theme all day, providing more trouble to most of the seeded players. Maria Sharapova, the women’s top seed, needed just 49 minutes to subdue 48th-ranked Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar 6-1, 6-0 and reach the third round.

Belgian Kim Clijsters, seeded fourth, struggled more in the swirling winds, but emerged with a 7-5, 6-0 second-round victory over unseeded Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga. Serena Williams, seeded eighth, got past Colombian Catalin Castano 6-2, 6-2 to move within one match of meeting her sister, Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the fourth round as 10th-seeded Venus also advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Lleyton Hewitt, the third seeded Australian, was the first to taste the difficult conditions on the Arthur Ashe Stadium in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 win over Spain’s Albert Costa. Hewitt fended off both break points he faced in the opening set and didn’t give the Spaniard another look at his serve.

The lissome Sharapova joked that she felt she might blow right off the court and into the nearby Unisphere, the giant globe built erected for the 1964 World’s Fair that is a landmark at the National Tennis Centre. Sharapova advanced to a meeting with Germany’s Julia Schruff, who beat American Lisa Raymond 6-3, 6-3. Clijsters will next face Japanese 30th seed Ai Sugiyama, who defeated Czech Michaela Pastikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The wind was still up when Serena Williams took the court. But Williams, who is trying to bounce back from various injuries that have hindered her since her Australian Open triumph in January, managed to overcome the conditions and booked a revenge match with Italian Francesca Schiavone, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Finland’s Emma Laine.

Venus Williams faces a potentially dangerous third-round match against Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, the 20th seed who beat Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina 6-1, 6-0.

Results — Men’s singles first round: Lleyton Hewitt beat Albert Costa 6-1, 6-2, 6-1; Taylor Dent beat Lars Burgsmuller 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; Dominik Hrbaty beat Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2; Jose Acasuso beat Luis Horna 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6; Karol Kucera beat Mark Philippoussis 6-4, 6-2, 7-5; David Ferrer beat Agustin Calleri 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1, 6-1. Second round: Rafael Nadal beat Scoville Jenkins 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Women’s singles second round: Kim Clijsters beat Fabiola Zuluaga 7-5, 6-0; Maria Sharapova beat Dally Randriantefy 6-1, 6-0; Sania Mirza beat Maria Elena Camerin 6-4, 1-6, 6-4; Venus Williams beat Mario Kirilenko 6-1, 6-3; Ai Sugiyama beat Michaela Pastikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Daniela Hantuchova beat Maria Emilia Salerni 6-1, 6-0; Nadia Petrova beat Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-0; Serena Williams beat Catalina Castano 6-2, 6-2.