Rome: Rafael Nadal def Mayer

5/16/2012Rafaholics

Five-time former champion Rafael Nadal opened with a 6-1, 7-5 win over German Florian Mayer on Wednesday night at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

Nadal, playing his first match since a third-round exit last week in Madrid, did not lose a point behind his first serve in the 26-minute opening set. Though Mayer stayed level with the Spaniard through the first 10 games of the second set, he conceded a late break to give Nadal a chance to serve out the victory.

Nadal has a 32-2 match record in Rome, winning titles from 2005-07 and '09-10. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final.

The Spaniard next plays countryman Marcel Granollers, who won back-to-back tour-level matches for the first time this season as he defeated Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4. Granollers had upset 15th-seeded compatriot Feliciano Lopez in his the first round.