Rafa survives a scare

Nadal was in danger of losing two consecutive matches on clay for the first time in his career following defeat in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-final to Fognini, but he bounced back immediately by breaking his opponent in the second set opener.

Barcelona : World number two Rafa Nadal dropped a set at the Barcelona Open for the first time in four years before advancing to the last 16, beating Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-7(7) 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday.

The Spaniard surrendered a 5-3 lead in the first set and then spurned two set points in the tiebreak, which Mayer, ranked 63 in the world, edged thanks to an impressive crosscourt forehand winner.

Nadal, who has won the Barcelona Open a record 11 times, had not lost a set in the tournament since a round of 16 game against Fabio Fognini in 2015, winning 30 sets in a row until he met Mayer.

The "permanent" Barcelona Open winner

Nadal was in danger of losing two consecutive matches on clay for the first time in his career following defeat in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-final to Fognini, but he bounced back immediately by breaking his opponent in the second set opener.

Read : Fabio Fognini beat Dusan Lajovic to win maiden Masters title

Nadal, who was playing on a court named after him, broke the Argentine twice more in the decider to set up an all-Spanish third round tie with David Ferrer.

Ferrer beat Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-3 6-1 while Argentine Guido Pella beat six-seed Karen Khachanov in straight sets.

Lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena beat compatriot Nicola Kuhn in three sets after Fognini withdrew from the tournament following injury concerns after practising earlier in the day.

Grigor Dimitrov was in action against Fernando Verdasco while Pablo Carreno Busta was playing Benoit Paire later in the day.