Scoville Jenkins may have lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal Wednesday night, but he made big waves at the U.S. Open. AP
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By Richard Deitsch, SI.com

NEW YORK -- Scoville Jenkins walked out of the USTA National Tennis Center early Thursday morning at 1:27 a.m., a bit forlorn but knowing his life likely had changed forever.

Prior to his match with Rafael Nadal, the notion that Jenkins could stay on the same court with the world's No. 2-ranked player seemed as likely as Andy Roddick losing his mojo in the first round. Though he and Nadal shared the pages of September's issue of Teen Vogue as brothers in sporting couture -- a pair of freshly scrubbed teenagers fronting tank tops from Nike and Le Coq Sportif -- the distance in tennis terms between Jenkins, a wild card ranked No. 372 in the world rankings, and the sport's anointed wonder boy was about as far as their respective hometowns of Atlanta and Manacor, Spain.

But here Jenkins was, on the nation's showcase court, battling neck-and-neck with the French Open champion. ("A gunslinger," Jenkins' father, also named Scoville, called his 18-year-old son after the match. "He beat him up but he let him escape.") Finally, after two hours and 25 minutes, Nadal emerged as a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 winner.

The match lasted long enough for CBS to take over the live coverage at 12:37 a.m. for the final 10 minutes. It ended with Jenkins fighting until the end. If he can become a top-50 player -- and many believe he will -- nights like Wednesday will be the engine that drives him there. Last year he earned a wildcard to the Open and played then-defending champion Roddick in a opening-round night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Roddick, who had his mojo rising back then, carved Jenkins up in 72 minutes, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. Jenkins' second time on Ashe was a different story.

"I thought I did pretty good for myself coming in and playing with him," Jenkins said. "I played pretty well. I stepped up. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I could be right there with the No. 2 one day."

There is still work to be done. Plenty of it. Jenkins has a big forehand, athleticism in droves and a serve with serious bite (he consistently served in the 120s against Nadal). But he needs to sure up his backhand and, as is often the case with a big game, he sprays the ball around like a sprinkler. He hit 45 winners but also committed 49 unforced errors. (Nadal committed just 13 unforced errors, playing a smart in treacherous wind conditions.)

To prep for Nadal, born just 110 days before him, Jenkins had left-hander Donald Young, an American teenager that has drawn 10 times the attention Jenkins has, warm him up prior to facing Nadal because he wanted to simulate facing a lefty. Nadal broke Jenkins in the first game but the young American proved he had mettle. He fought through initial nerves and had a break-point chance trailing 4-3 in the first set but netted a backhand. He played a terrific second set, hitting daring forehand winners and attacking the net often, winning won 42 of 66 points from net.