Despite losing the first set to Italy's Simone Bolelli on February 11 2009, men's tennis world number one Rafael Nadal pulled the tricks of his hat and advanced to the second round of the 36^th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament winning 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. The event takes place at Ahoy Rotterdam.

In the second round, Nadal will play Bulgaria's best tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, who won his first round match against world number 23, Tomáš Berdych of the Czech Republic, on February 10.

It took Nadal two hours and 25 minutes to get the better of Bolleli, who has never won a match against a top 10 player. Despite his poor record, Bolelli made Nadal earn his victory by saving two match points in the third set.

"Bolelli’s opposition emphasises that the best players in the world are here at this tournament," Nadal said after the match, as quoted on the tournament's website.

"Up front, you just know that every match is going to be tough. Of course he had nothing to loose, but Bolelli is developing into a better player every day. He played well and the surface was in his favour, too. This is one of the fastest courts I have played on over the past several years. In the third set, I had the best chances and deserved to win," Nadal said.

Nadal's second round game against Dimitrov is scheduled for February 12 at 8.30pm. "He is a great talent who won everything as a junior," said Nadal. "I know Dimitrov, as I have trained with him in Madrid. He has a lot of confidence. In addition, for him it is a motivation to play against the number one in the world. It will be tough, but I will try my best."

World number 478, Dimitrov, who won last year’s junior titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, has already expressed his satisfaction about playing against Nadal. "I have trained with him and I have learnt a lot from watching him train," he told Bulgarian media.