The nine-time Rome winner came through 6-1, 6-1 against 18th-ranked Carreno Busta, a recent semi-finalist at the US Open.
Spain's Rafael Nadal serves to compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta during Round 2 of the Italian Open on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
In his first match in over six months, Rafael Nadal swept aside fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Italian Open. The nine-time Rome winner came through 6-1, 6-1 against 18th-ranked Carreno Busta, a recent semi-finalist at the US Open. "It was a perfect start for me. It was solid, good shots on the forehand and backhand. I didn't expect to play that well," Nadal said.
'Solid match'
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"Maybe Pablo was a little bit tired from a great tournament there in New York, but thinking about myself, I played a very solid match and very serious and doing a lot of things very well. So very happy." The World No. 2 has not played since winning in Acapulco at the end of February, opting to skip the US hard court tour because of COVID-19 concerns.
Bopanna-Shapovalov win
Meanwhile, India's Rohan Bopanna and Canadian Denis Shapovalov stunned top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 in a hard-fought second round encounter to enter the men's doubles quarter-finals.
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