NEW YORK -- For the past three years, all Mardy Fish has ever wanted was to finish his tennis career on his own terms.
The US Open, where things began to unravel in 2012 when he withdrew from a fourth-round match against Roger Federer, was the perfect place for closure.
But, as it turns out, his retirement will have to wait until at least Wednesday.
That's because, after an early potentially troubling bobble, Fish dispatched a 22-year-old Italian named Marco Cecchinato 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. Fish will play No. 18 seed Feliciano Lopez in a second-round match.
"This tournament is where it all came crashing down, and where I had my worst feelings of my whole life was here," Fish said. "That's a tough thing at my favorite tournament. So I sort of desperately wanted to come back and change that narrative.
"I feel really good."
That Cecchinato still has yet to win an ATP World Tour-level match (he's 0-8) and was playing in his first-ever main draw at a major isn't particularly relevant.
The fact that Fish was hitting relatively stress-free aces (12) and winners (49) Monday afternoon on his way into the next chapter in his life is.
The 33-year-old American has battled arrhythmia -- a wildly, unpredictably racing heart -- and, later, an anxiety disorder that left him housebound. Fish built a quality résumé, featuring more than 300 ATP World Tour wins, $7 million in prize money, six titles and a career-high ranking of No. 7. Fish reached the quarterfinals of every major tournament with the exception of the French Open.
But in the three seasons since, he won a total of only five tennis matches and made about $38,000 annually, double the poverty level for a U.S. family of three, but far below the standards of an elite professional tennis player. He was appearing in his 13th US Open main draw. Like Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion here, this will be his last.
Understandably, Fish was a little less than clean and polished. He was credited with 52 unforced errors.
This was only his fifth match of the year and his second victory; earlier this month in Cincinnati, he beat No. 20-ranked Viktor Troicki before losing to No. 2 Andy Murray.
Fish, who could have quietly retired three years ago, deserves a great deal of credit for being honest and going public with his condition.
"There is not very many [athletes] that have -- sort of let it be known that they are having problems," Fish said. "That was one of the reasons why, like first it helps me to talk about it. It helps me personally to be open and talk about it, first and foremost.
"And then secondly, just because when I was going through the whole process -- I'm a huge sports fan, so whenever I was going through the whole process it was sort of looking for a role model or someone that had beaten it or that had had success with it and was able to come back and be successful or just come back and play again. I couldn't really find that person that was sort of out there and, you know, in front of it."
Fish said he asked the advice of fellow Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake, who retired in recent years.
"It's just a little different for me because of my history here three years ago and just my history in the past three years," Fish said. "So I want to sort of take in everything and enjoy all aspects of this tournament, because it is so great. But sometimes it's hard. I mean, I haven't played for three hours very long or very often since I have been back here, I guess, 2012. I haven't hit tennis balls for three hours in practice at all.
In the end, the match ran 2 hours, 52 minutes.
"You look at the clock and you're a bit worried that, 'Can I last this long?' " Fish said. "Then losing that first set obviously -- I spent a lot of time on the court today telling myself that I'm going to be OK; everything's going to be OK, you're going to be fine.
"That comes from you just learning from every experience and episode that I have had, struggle that I have had and what I have worked so hard to get myself to. Three years ago that would have been really tough. I have come a long way and worked really hard with it. I don't take it for granted. I'm glad I got through it."