Hijikata beat Russia's Pavel Kotov 7-5 5-7 6-3 7-5 in a bruising four-hour battle that put him through to the second round at Flushing Meadows. However, his joy was cut short by news of the shooting death of a faculty member at the university, where Hijikata's girlfriend is still taking classes. "I came off the court and saw there was a shooting at UNC that's kind of put a dampener on it (win)," said Hijikata. "I guess it is just the reality of life sometimes in this country, which is not a good thing." "I feel like it is really not an unexpected event, which makes it worse almost.

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Persons: Jason Kubler, Hugo, Poland's Jan Zielinski, Sandra Sanders, Rinky Hijikata, Hijikata, Russia's Pavel Kotov, that's, Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, scratcher, Steve Keating, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Melbourne, Hugo Nys, Poland's Jan Zielinski REUTERS, U.S, University of North, UNC, UNC that's, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia, University of North Carolina, Flushing Meadows, Chapel Hill, United States, Australian, U.S, New York