• ATP World Tour Finals

Nadal overcomes illness to scrape past Fish

Rafael Nadal needed all his battling qualities to find a way past Mardy Fish © PA Photos

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Rafael Nadal survived a huge scare to get his ATP World Tour Finals campaign off to a winning start, with the Spaniard edging Mardy Fish 6-2 3-6 7-6(3) in a little under three hours.

Returning to action following a five-week break, Nadal raced through the first set before his American opponent fought back to draw level. A visibly fading Nadal needed a lengthy bathroom break early in the decider but he dipped into his reserves to grind out a morale-boosting victory, despite not being at his best.

"It was a very important victory," he said. "Sorry for the toilet break but I had a terrible stomach."

The world No. 2 signalled his intent by breaking Fish - who has qualified for the tournament for the first time despite struggling with a hamstring injury - in the opening game of the Group B encounter. Three unforced errors later, the set was Nadal's, as the French Open champion threatened to leave the packed O2 Arena feeling short-changed.

Fish settled down thereafter and, targeting the Nadal forehand, the 29-year-old sailed into a 3-0 lead. Nadal threatened a brief rally but, to his credit, Fish did not let his foot off the accelerator and made his dominance count by forcing a final set.

Despite, taking a 2-0 lead in the decider, Nadal did not look at all well and was forced to leave the court. Upon his return, Fish turned the screw, winning three games on the spin to take the momentum into the business end of the set.

However, Nadal broke back and, although Fish twice saved match points at 4-5, Nadal produced the goods in the ensuing tiebreak to take his match record for the year to 67-13.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.