BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Taking it easy after months away from competitive tennis, Rafael Nadal was good enough to earn a comfortable first-round win at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday.
Nadal looked injury-free in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli to advance to the second round in his first tournament in more than three months.
Nadal converted on his second match point to seal the victory over the 21-year-old Italian ranked 62nd in the world. The Spaniard will next face Alex de Minaur, who had a first-round bye.
"Taking everything into consideration, it was a good first round," Nadal said. "I played the kind of match that I needed to play. I'm happy for the victory and happy to be playing at home again."
Nadal, a 12-time champion at the clay-court tournament, said he was never at full strength at the center court named after him, especially when serving.