Rafael Nadal made a strong start to the defense of his Japan Open crown on Tuesday, defeating wildcard entrant Go Soeda 6-3 6-2.
The world No. 2, who is seeking his 47th tournament title, broke his Japanese opponent's serve on four occasions to emerge victorious from the first-round clash in 91 minutes.
It was his first ATP Tour appearance since losing in the U.S. Open final in September, though he helped Spain reach the Davis Cup final with two victories against France the week after that defeat.
"I think I played a good match, better than I thought ahead of the match," Nadal, whose record of 62 wins and 11 defeats in 2011 is second only to world number one Novak Djokovic, told the ATP's official website.
"My serve was better than I thought because ahead of the tournament it was so-so. For me, the balls were a little heavy so I found it tricky to hit my forehand topspin. My next match against Raonic will be really tough."
The 10-time grand slam winner will next face Canada's Milos Raonic, who defeated Soeda's fellow Japanese wildcard Yuichi Sugita 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (7-1).
It was only Raonic's second match since being eliminated from the second round of Wimbledon in June after suffering with a right hip injury.
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