21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal's bid for an 11th Italian Open crown started strong on Wednesday afternoon, as the King of Clay joined German Alexander Zverev and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas to move past the second round in Rome.
Throughout his career, Nadal has never lost consecutive matches on his favorite surface and the Spaniard extended that perfect record by beating former world No.8 American John Isner 6-3, 6-1 to reach the third round.
"For me today it's not about which player I have in front. It's about trying to improve every single day. And tomorrow it's another day with a chance to play better. That's the main goal today, to be better and better and try to reach a higher level every single day. " said Nadal, the 10-time Italian Open title holder.
Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during the match against American John Isner at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2022 at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, May 11, 2022. /CFP
The win continued Nadal's comeback to competitive action after he reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open last week following a six-week layoff due to a rib injury.
The 35-year-old Spaniard will next face Canadian star Denis Shapovalov in the third round. The former world No.1 holds a 4-1 lead in a head to head against Shapovalov.
Alexander Zverev of Germany returns to Sebastian Baez of Argentina during their second round match at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2022 in Rome, Italy, May 11, 2022. /CFP
Zverev kept his recent good form on clay as the second seeded German outlasted Estoril champion Sebastian Baez 7-6(6), 6-3 in an intriguing second-round encounter at the Foro Italico.
The world No.3's third-round opponent in Rome will be Alex de Minaur, after the Australian defeated American Tommy Paul for the second time at a Masters 1000 event this year.
Tsitsipas saved two match points to complete a third straight win against former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov in as many tournaments, by way of a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) result.