BEIJING, Oct. 8 -- Top seed and 2005 champion Rafael Nadal survived a tricky encounter against American James Blake 7-5,6-7(4), 6-3 in a heavyweight second round clash at the China Open ATP tournament on Thursday.
Nadal should have finished earlier while serving for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set, but the 29-year-old Blake restored his form in time, forcing a tiebreak. Leading at 6-1, theAmerican converted on the third set point to level the match.
"He's a very good player and his return is very fast," said Nadal, who is competing in Beijing for the first time since clinching the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.
"I think I played a very good match. I feel it was one of my best matches after my knee injury. I'm happy with how I played today.
"Every match is important; every win is very important. Every win gives you confidence. I feel it was a very good win. I didn't have a lot of bad shots with the forehand, so that's important," added the world number two.
Coming up next for Nadal in the last eight will be wildcard and 2004 titlist Marat Safin from Russia, a 6-3, 6-4 victor over seventh seed Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.
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