Rafael Nadal starts Italian Open 2024 campaign on winning note, comes from behind to beat Zizou Bergs soundly in 1R battle

Rafael Nadal booked his spot in the second round of the 2024 Italian Open on Thursday, downing qualifier Zizou Bergs in his opener in Rome.

The Spaniard started off as the better player in the opening set, securing an early break of serve to go 3-1 up. Bergs, however, fought back to stop Nadal from running away with the set, and earned his break back to restore parity at 4-4. Serving to stay ahead in the ninth game, the 22-time Grand Slam champion stumbled, allowing Bergs to take the set 6-4.

The second set began in identical fashion, with Rafael Nadal soon racing to a 3-1 lead with a break of serve. This time, the former World No. 1 did not let his advantage slip and consolidated the lead to seal the set 6-3 in his favor and force the decider.

The third set, once again, saw the southpaw racing to a 3-1 lead. Bergs threatened to reverse the situation similar to the first set, and had three break points on the Spaniard's serve at 2-3* 0-40. However, Nadal produced an extraordinary display of defense and spot serving to protect his lead. From there, the 37-year-old held strong to wrap up the set 6-4, and with it the match, in a little under three hours.

Rafael Nadal to take on Hubert Hurkacz in Italian Open second round

Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024 - Day Four

Following his win over Zizou Bergs, Rafael Nadal will take on seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the 2024 Italian Open. The Pole had a first-round bye and will be playing his first match of the event against the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

Nadal and Hurkacz have never met on the ATP Tour previously, and will square off against each other for the very first time in Rome. The winner of the clash will take on either Thiago Seyboth Wild or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round, with a potential fourth-round clash against 10th seed Holger Rune awaiting.

Meanwhile, second seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev is the expected quarterfinal opponent for the Spaniard if both players manage to reach as far. Fourth seed Andrey Rublev is the likely semifinal opponent (according to seeding) while top seed Novak Djokovic is the favorite to reach the final from the top half of the draw.

Following the end of his time at the Italian Open, Nadal will join the rest of the tennis world at the French Open, where he is the 14-time record champion.