Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the Monte Carlo Masters remain alive after he bounced back from a dropped set to seal a 7-6(6) 4-6 6-3 victory over John Isner in the third round of the tournament.

The Spaniard, who has been struggling with injuries over the past year, struggled to overcome the American's serve in the first set.

Isner came the closest to making the breakthrough in the fourth game, but he relinquished two break points and missed the opportunity to swing the momentum in his direction.

A tie-break was needed to decide the first set, and Nadal just edged it 8-6, but he struggled to take a stronghold of the contest in the second set as Isner fought back to secure a crucial break.

With the match tied at one set apiece, Nadal found his rhythm by going a break up early in the decider, and managed to hold off his opponent to see it through to victory.