NEW YORK (AP) — This, Mardy Fish said afterward, is what ran through his mind during his first U.S. Open match in three years – and the first match of his last tournament as a tennis pro: “I’m going to be OK. Everything’s going to be OK. You’re going to be fine.”

Helped by medication and therapy, Fish has been dealing with severe anxiety disorder, a condition that led him to abandon his career. He returned to competition briefly this summer for a farewell tour of sorts, and his final visit to Flushing Meadows as a player began Monday with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory over 102ndranked Marco Cecchinato of Italy.

“A lot of sort of internal talk,” is the way Fish described his state of mind Monday. “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.”

He faces 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in the second round.

“I took it as this was my last match until I won,” Fish said, “and then the next one will be maybe my last match.”