Rafael Nadal comes back from set down to 24-year-old Belgian Zizou Bergs to win 4-6 6-3 6-4; the 22-time Grand Slam champion faces Polish seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round; watch continued coverage of the Italian Open live on Sky Sports Tennis
Friday 10 May 2024 07:06, UK
Rafael Nadal was forced to do it the hard way in his Italian Open first-round match against Zizou Bergs, battling back from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-4.
With the 22-time Grand Slam champion still making his tentative first steps back in tennis after missing most of 2023 to a devastating hip injury, the 37-year-old looked rusty when dropping the opening set.
Having earned an early break, Nadal was immediately broken back and went on to lose five of the last six games in the first set to the impressive Bergs - the Belgian converting a set point with an emphatic forehand smash.
The second set was briefly disrupted as a spectator was taken ill in the Rome heat midway through the opening game and it appeared to disturb Bergs' rhythm when the match resumed, Nadal immediately breaking the 24-year-old.
Racing into a 3-0 lead, Nadal hit more winners in the opening three games of the second set than he had in the entire opener.
That's not to say that Nadal was having things all his own way on court, with Bergs carving out break point opportunities in two of his last three service games and taking his decorated opponent to deuce in the other before the Spaniard finally served things out to level the match, prompting a huge roar in celebration.
Bergs too was animated after winning the opening game of the deciding third set, cupping his ear to the crowd, but Nadal, now well into his stride, would break him in his next service game.
Far from breezing his way to victory from then on, Nadal suddenly found himself facing three break points when down 0-40 in the sixth game. However, he summoned all of his trademark grit and gumption, tied to his skill, to save all three of them, ultimately closing things out to book his spot in the second round where he'll face Polish seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz.
"Of course that was not my best match," Nadal said after his win. "But I found a way to win, and that's so important at the beginning of the tournament for me.
"My game is more unpredictable than before. I didn't play much tennis for the last two years, so I have ups and downs. But I think I can do it much better than today, and I hope to do it in the next round."
In terms of British interest in the first round in Rome, Jack Draper made light work of his opening match against Borna Coric, winning 7-5 6-1.
In a tight first set, Draper spurned six break-point opportunities before finally cracking the Croatian's serve at the seventh attempt to clinch the opening set.
With Coric's resolve now very much broken, Draper rattled off seven games in a row before ultimately running out victorious in straight sets.
The 22-year-old faces a stiff challenge in the second round, going up against second seed and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
Meanwhile, Dan Evans lost a three-set battle against wildcard Fabio Fognini 4-6 6-3 2-6 in the first round.
Evans had a heated exchange with the umpire Mohamed Lahyani in his encounter after a controversial call in the deciding set with him saying the ball was in after it looked to be out.
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