With the victory, the second-ranked Nadal extended his streak of beating players outside the top 100 to 45.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also advanced, saving two set points in the first set before beating Flavio Cipolla of Italy 7-6 (8), 6-3.
Also, sixth-seeded Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia withdrew from the tournament with a right ankle injury, becoming the first seeded player not to advance.
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