Rafael Nadal began his campaign at the tournament in Rome with a hard-fought victory

The legendary Rafael Nadal commenced his journey at the ATP 1000 clay-court tournament in Rome with a hard-fought victory.

In the opening round, the Spaniard battled past the Netherlands' representative Zizou Bergs in a tense encounter, triumphing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The match lasted nearly 3 hours, spanning 2 hours and 47 minutes.

Throughout the match, Nadal committed 4 double faults and converted 3 out of 7 break points.

Next up, the former world number one will face Poland's seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the upcoming round.

It's worth noting that in April, Nadal concluded his participation at the Madrid Masters. In the round of 16, the Spanish tennis star suffered a defeat to Czech player Jiri Lehecka.

• ATP 1000. Rome. First Round
  Rafael Nadal (Spain) – Zizou Bergs (Belgium) – 4:6, 6:3, 6:4