OMNISPORT

Retiring American Mardy Fish said he will not be lost to tennis when his playing career comes to a close at the US Open, after his crowd-pleasing first-round win.

Fish, a former world number seven, defeated Marco Cecchinato in four sets on Monday, the 33-year-old prolonging his 15-year career by at least one more match.

He has a tougher task next, 18th seed Feliciano Lopez, but Fish was simply relieved he - as the world number 581 - could make it back to the tour and "go out on my own terms".

The past three years has seen Fish battle an anxiety disorder, related to the accelerated heart-rate that saw him withdraw from a fourth-round clash with Roger Federer at Flushing Meadows in 2012.

His win over Cecchinato was his first major appearance since, but regardless of how he goes against Lopez, Fish said he will not be a stranger to the ATP World Tour.

"I'd love to help out," Fish told a news conference. 

"Yeah, I am going to help out this off-season with some of the guys in LA, some of the Americans. 

"I think I sort of have a unique perspective where I sort of know what the bottom feels like and kind of know what, you know, not number one in the world but top 10 in the world feels like and how you can try to get everything out of yourself. 

"I mean, specifically, there is a ton of great young Americans coming up. 

"This is going to be a really good time in the next few years to see them grow. And, yeah, I'd love to help. 

"I'm going to help and share as much as I can with them."

Robby Ginepri announced his retirement last week, another American to hit the top-20 - rising to as high as number 15 in the world, and was a US Open semi-finalist 10 years ago.

Fish paid tribute to his mate, who had played just three grand slam tournaments since 2010.

"He had a great career," Fish said of 32-year-old Ginepri. 

"He hasn't played recently. I haven't seen him all that much. We do keep in touch from time to time. 

"He was a good friend for a long time out here, so it's nice to hear that he's come at peace with it and come to sort of a conclusion. 

"This was his best tournament in 2005 where he almost made the final. So, yeah, it's a bumper [retirement], but, you know, next generation is upon us now and we are almost all gone."