BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rafael Nadal, who is set to take the number one spot after the Olympic Games, needed two hours and 15 minutes to beat Potito Starace from Italy in a full-set opener on Monday.

    Apart from a humidity level that some players say is the worst they've ever played in, it's perfect playing conditions out there, with the temperature having dropped a little after the downpour on Sunday that forced organizers to cancel most of the matches on the schedule.

    Nadal, making his Olympic singles debut, should have closed the match earlier but suffered a second set slump to Starace, who is ranked 74th in the world and trailing behind 4-0 against Nadal in career before the match.

    The 22-year-old Spaniard eased through the first set 6-2 over Starace in 39 minutes, which was quick by his standards, but the Italian snaffled the second set after breaking Rafael's opening serve, the first set won by the Italian in all previous meetings against Rafael.

    Nadal, however, improved a lot in the deciding set, breaking twice to take it at 6-2.

    "I started playing very well. I played very good first set and I am happy for that because it is difficult to start the first match, and I did," said Nadal, the four-times Roland Garros winner and newly-crowned Wimbledon king.

    "He plays very well, having good serves, moving very good and hitting very well with his forehand.

    "In the second set, I have some bad luck. I had a lot of opportunities for coming back, a lot of break points but I didn't convert on any one of them, so it was tough."