Rafael Nadal has admitted that he had to work hard to get past Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The world number one, who is looking to win the tournament for a ninth time, defeated the Russian 6-4 6-1 on Tuesday.
However, the Spaniard has credited his Russian opponent for giving him a tough opening match out on court.
"Always in the first match, the thing that you want at the beginning is get into a rhythm, play some long points, find the feelings," he told the ATP's official website. "But I didn't have that chance because he started very quick with finding the winners on the first ball that he could."
Nadal's opponent in the next round is Italy's Andreas Seppi.
