Thursday 20 August 2015 11:56, UK
Rafael Nadal has set up a Cincinnati Masters third round tie with Feliciano Lopez after beating Jeremy Chardy in two straight sets on Wednesday.
In a late-night game - the players not taking to the court until 11.30pm due to lengthy rain - Nadal scraped through a somewhat nervous performance to win in straight sets, 6-3 6-4.
The Spaniard, who was recently swept aside by Kei Nishikori in the Montreal Masters quarter-finals, showed some positive signs of returning to his best form but still had to stave off nine break points.
After finally defeating Chardy with his fifth match point in the second set, Nadal said: "I am working very hard to find my best game again."
Meanwhile, top seed Novak Djokovic cruised through his second-round match against Benoit Paire, beating the Frenchman 7-5 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with Belgian 13th seed David Goffin.
Wimbledon champion Djokovic, aiming for a historic career grand slam of all nine ATP 1000 Masters titles, had to contend not only with being broken but also some trick shots from France's Benoit Paire, who ultimately succumbed to a 7-5 6-2 defeat.
Stan Wawrinka, still smarting from his war of words with Nick Kyrgios, had to dig deep to beat Borna Coric and conceded his thoughts had been far from tennis over the past few days.
Wawrinka was given a major scare by Coric, the world No 38, who bagged the first set 6-3 on centre court. The Swiss hit back with 10 aces over the next two sets to clinch the match 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in nearly two-and-a-half hours.
