Rafael Nadal was tested more than he would have preferred, but the Spaniard returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier victorious on Tuesday at Roland Garros. The 10-time champion's first-round match was suspended by rain at 6-4, 6-3, 0-3 late Monday evening.
But Nadal, a champion in 2005-08, 2010-14 and '17, seized momentum from the start and saved four set points in the third-set tie-break to advance to the second round 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9).
It was Nadal's first tie-break at Roland Garros since his 2013 semi-final against Novak Djokovic, and the Spaniard was a shot away from dropping a set in Paris for the first time since 2015 (Djokovic). Last year, Nadal was pushed to 6-4 in a set just three times, and he never dropped a set all tournament.
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But the Spaniard navigated through in straight sets, marking win No. 80 in Paris (80-2) and improving to 105-2 during best-of-five clay-court matches. He will next meet Portugal's Joao Sousa or Guido Pella of Argentina. Their match was also suspended by rain, with Pella leading 6-2, 6-3, 2-3.
Nadal was especially challenged on serve against the free-swinging Italian, who, like on Monday, took his chances from the middle of the court. At 3-4, Nadal fell behind 0/40 and had to erase four break points.
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But Bolelli didn't fade away, taking his chances and holding for 6-5 to place the pressure back on the top seed. The 32-year-old Italian led 6/3 in the tie-break and had the set on his racquet at 6/5. But the Nadal stepped up, running around his backhand to get to 6/6 before erasing another set point at 6/7.
Bolelli later saved three match points himself, but during the 20th point, the Italian netted a forehand and Nadal celebrated another straight-sets win.
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