Nadal, who has dominated the world of tennis on clay court surfaces in recent years, posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory and did not face a single break point in the match. He will next meet Andreas Seppi.

In a pair of upsets, wild card Robin Haase eliminated Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3, and Seppi ousted former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). Seppi saved a match point in defeating Hewitt.

Murray, who has climbed to No. 10 in the world rankings, won last week in Marseilles.

In other first-round action Wednesday, Tomas Berdych won over Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3, and Fernando Verdasco was a 6-2, 6-2 victor over Jarkko Nieminen.