World number one Rafael Nadal has survived a scare in the second round of the Italian Open, beating France's Gilles Simon 7-6(1) 6-7(4) 6-2 this evening.
The Spaniard had a chance to serve out the first set, having broken Simon late on, but his opponent managed to level up straight away and force the opener to a tie-break. Simon took the first point in the tie-break, but could not stop Nadal wrapping up the next seven to take a one-set lead.
It looked like the top seed would quickly clinch the second when he secured a break in the Frenchman's opening service game, helping him to a 3-0 lead.
However, the world number 30 dug deep to win three in a row himself and level the set, eventually forcing it to another tie-break, which this time was won by Simon, who had faced a match point during his final service game in the second.
Momentum seemed to stay with the Frenchman at the start of the third set as he took a break during the Spaniard's opening service game, but Nadal soon levelled before taking a break of his own.
Trailing 4-2, Simon was broken by the world number one again to allow Nadal to serve for the match, dropping just a single point in the final game to progress after three hours and 18 minutes on court.
Nadal will play Mikhail Youzhny in the third round of the tournament.
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