After a break in the second game of third set (7 games in a row for Nadal), Rosol was on a way back, and broke in 7th game to force dramatic closure and tie break. Nadal then found it hard to recover dropping a second serve thus losing the first set 1-6.
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Nadal converted his second break point and it was clear he was going to win the second set, which he did after breaking indisposed Czech again in 12 th game.
Fourteen-time grand slam champion Nadal punched the air with delight as Rosol sent a backhand long to bring an end to a tense encounter lasting two hours and 16 minutes.
Serbia’s Viktor Troicki returns a ball to France’s Adrian Mannarino during their first round match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, on Monday, October 26, 2015.
Nadal found his form, breaking Rosol for 2-0 and saving a pair of break points for a 3-0 lead.
Before Nadal ruled the clay courts at Roland Garros winning the French Open nine times from 2005 to 2014, there was another Spaniard in Ferrero, who won the majors title in France in 2003. “But the last few weeks have helped for building the confidence”.
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In their first ever meeting, Rosol had pulled off a memorable upset win at Wimbledon in 2012, and Nadal appeared to be heading for another shock setback when he quickly handed over the first set with a string of errors. “And the crowd support was very important for me”.
