Rafael Nadal won his opening, 2nd round, match against Italian, world no. 145 Guido Pella on Sunday. While the ranking indicated a very lopsided pairing, this match held more than meets the eye. The final score of 6-3 6-2 did not accurately reflect the efforts of Pella and how Nadal fought.

While Rafa’s stats were superior, Pella pushed him to make errors and consistently produced serves in the 120MPH range. Pella painted the lines and struck skilled passing shots. In the first set Pella won 50 percent of his 1st service points but in the 2nd he fell off to 46 percent. Guido fell short on the all-important stat, 2nd serves.

Nadal is clearly working to up his service with respect to velocity. He had this to say about his service game, “I tried to serve, to increase a little bit the speed of the serve when the match was coming. In the beginning, tried to serve a little bit more safe.”

The Spaniard’s typical weapons were on full display, dominating return points and break points. Classic Nadal shots wowed a massive fan presence in Stadium 1, aka “Rafa's house”. But make no mistake, Nadal had to fight for this win and knew he could not underestimate the Argentine as they had played only once before.

Nadal reflected on his performance stating,” I didn't try to do amazing things. I tried to play solid. I tried to find the rhythm, and I think I did. For moments I played well; for moments I played a little bit less well. Important thing, I won, and I won in straight sets. I had some good feelings for a lot of moments.”

Rafa’s next opponent is a familiar nemesis and countryman, Fernando Verdasco. Despite a lopsided head-to-head record of 15-3, Verdasco has been a Nadal spoiler in recent years in Miami and the Australian Open.

Nadal will need his “A” game to advance in the “Grand Slam” quarter Tuesday. Alas, no-one knows that better than him.