Italian Open: Rafael Nadal beats John Isner to reach the third round in Rome

The 35-year-old Spaniard carried on with his comeback after losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open after being off the court for six weeks due to a rib injury. The victory against John Isner ensured that Rafael Nadal had not lost more than one match in a row on clay; the win marked his 44th consecutive victory following a defeat on clay.

Although John Isner competed well, Rafael Nadal countered the huge serve from his opponent with his trademark spinning groundstrokes. The unseeded Isner struggled to regain momentum after losing two break points in the opening set when the scores were tied 3-3. Rafael Nadal was well settled in the game by the seventh game of the opening set.

Rafael Nadal dominated the second half and broke the World No. 27 John Isner three times to wrap up the match with a comfortable win in one hour and 16 minutes.

Rafael Nadal has won the Rome Open a record ten times. The comfortable victory over John Isner took his match record at the Italian capital to 69-7.

After the match, Rafael Nadal said, “I finished better than how I started, without a doubt, the beginning of the match was not good for me.

He had some chances on the return and had two breakpoints. John Isner had two not difficult balls so I was in his hands at that moment. I was lucky that he missed those shots and then I was able to break. Then the match changed, of course. With the first set on the board, and having the break in the first game of the second set, everything changed.

The Spaniard will next face 13th seed Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Italian Open on May 12.