15 March,2010 08:37 AM IST | | Agencies
Reigning champion Rafael Nadal, playing his first match in more than a month, reached the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Rainer Schuettler.
Nadal hadn't played since retiring with a right knee injury while trailing Andy Murray by two sets in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.
Nadal's victory over Schuettler offered little opportunity to gauge his game given the chilly, windy conditions that prevailed as darkness fell in the California desert.
Later, Nadal partnered by M Lopez, defeated the Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy in a thrilling three-setter. Nadal and Lopez clinched the first set 6-4 only tou00a0 concede the second 3-6. However, the Spain duo held their nerve to clinch the deciding set 10-6.
