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'

"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.