Tennis: Rafael Nadal beats Leonardo Mayer in three sets at Barcelona Open

Defending champion Rafael Nadal needed a deciding set but overcame Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the Barcelona Open. Nadal lost his previous match on clay when he was beaten by Italy's Fabio Fognini in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Saturday. And he initially struggled here as well as he lost a first set tie-break to Mayer nine points to seven. But a quick break at the start of the second set helped settle him down, and Nadal - the winner in Barcelona for the past three years - took the final two sets to safely reach the next round where he will play 37-year-old fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.