BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- World no. 1 Rafael Nadal kicked off his Asian swing with a three-set thriller against Lucas Pouille at the 2017 China Open, rallied to beat the Frenchman 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 here on Tuesday.
The Spaniard, who has already secured a berth in London ATP Finals, saved two match points when trailing 6-4 in the tiebreak of the second set, winning four-straight points to pull the match into the decider.
"It was a very tough first round, as I said the other day. He played well, very aggressive. For me was difficult at the beginning, then I started to play better", said the top-seeded player.
The 23-year-old Pouille had won their most recent head-to-head meeting and their only prior match-up on hard courts, outlasting Nadal in a fifth-set tie-break during the fourth round of the 2016 US Open.
"He had two match points, one of them with an easy forehand more or less, but it's like this," Nadal said, "I remember the match against him in the US Open that I had 6-All in the tiebreak, an easy forehand I missed to the net too. That time was for him, today was for me."
The Frenchman, ranked 23rd in the world, produced one of his best defences of the season in Beijing, forcing the top seed to wait until the 11th game of the decider to get his first and only break of the match. But the more experienced Nadal performed better when the chances came, holding his serve in the 12th game to seal the match.
It was also Nadal's first ATP Tour victory after he lifted the trophy at Flushing Meadows, where he beat Kevin Anderson in three straight sets to notch his third US Open and 16th Grand Slam title.
Nadal will face against Karen Khachanov, who ousted home player Wu Di 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
