Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open after defeating Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6(4) in his return to the ATP Tour.
In his first match since March, Nadal moved and guarded better than many thought, and his victory was well deserved. Rain and a second-set comeback by Kecmanovic could only slow Nadal down.
After winning the first set easily, Nadal was held off by Kecmanovic's more accurate serve.
The Serbian eventually lost serve in the 11th game, but Nadal was unable to serve out the match at 6-5, forcing a tiebreaker in the second set.
Nadal avoided a third set as he won a place in the last 16 against either Marrakech champion David Goffin or Munich finalist Botic van de Zandschulp.
Kecmanovic was easily controlled by Nadal's top-spin mastery, and he swiftly surrendered the first set.
It was too late for the Serb to understand Nadal's game by the time he did, but he held his own in an intriguing battle.
With the win, Nadal improves to 21-1 on the season, claiming his first match victory since the Indian Wells semifinals and assuring a quarterfinal matchup with Carlos Alcaraz.