<p>Nadal has spent much of a remarkably successful season sweeping opponents aside with consummate ease, but the world number one was pushed to the brink in his opening match of the prestigious end-of-year event at London's O2 Arena.<br /><br />The Spaniard was playing for the first time in five weeks after resting a shoulder injury and he initially looked a little rusty as Roddick took the first set.<br /><br />But the 24-year-old eventually found the remorseless rhythm that has crushed so many top players and he battled back to ensure a winning start to his bid to land the Tour Finals crown for the first time.<br /><br />Nadal said: "I was a little bit lucky tonight. I started the match a little bit nervous after five weeks without playing and made too many mistakes at the beginning.<br /><br />"I was very close to losing but the positive thing is I finished the match playing much better and that's good for my mentality.<br /><br />"I can play with a little bit more calm in the next match and even if I lose I still have chances to be in the semis."<br /><br />Roddick added: "I came out of the gates aggressively and I think it caught him by surprise. He definitely wasn't settled comfortably. He was missing more balls than normal.<br /><br />"The difference was he found his range on his forehand in the second and third sets.<br />"The two points I feel won him the match were when he hit two really good second serve returns there in the breaker."<br /><br />Nadal crashed out in the group stages last year after losing all three matches and readily admits that lacklustre effort represented one of the lowests moment of his career.<br /><br />His recovery since then has been stunning. In the space of 12 months, Nadal has reasserted himself as the sport's pre-eminent force by winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles, lifting a first US Open crown and returning to the top of the world rankings.<br /><br />Yet Nadal's unique brand of poise and power has never translated well to indoor tournaments. He has won only one roofed event and he made a slow start here.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Nadal has spent much of a remarkably successful season sweeping opponents aside with consummate ease, but the world number one was pushed to the brink in his opening match of the prestigious end-of-year event at London's O2 Arena.<br /><br />The Spaniard was playing for the first time in five weeks after resting a shoulder injury and he initially looked a little rusty as Roddick took the first set.<br /><br />But the 24-year-old eventually found the remorseless rhythm that has crushed so many top players and he battled back to ensure a winning start to his bid to land the Tour Finals crown for the first time.<br /><br />Nadal said: "I was a little bit lucky tonight. I started the match a little bit nervous after five weeks without playing and made too many mistakes at the beginning.<br /><br />"I was very close to losing but the positive thing is I finished the match playing much better and that's good for my mentality.<br /><br />"I can play with a little bit more calm in the next match and even if I lose I still have chances to be in the semis."<br /><br />Roddick added: "I came out of the gates aggressively and I think it caught him by surprise. He definitely wasn't settled comfortably. He was missing more balls than normal.<br /><br />"The difference was he found his range on his forehand in the second and third sets.<br />"The two points I feel won him the match were when he hit two really good second serve returns there in the breaker."<br /><br />Nadal crashed out in the group stages last year after losing all three matches and readily admits that lacklustre effort represented one of the lowests moment of his career.<br /><br />His recovery since then has been stunning. In the space of 12 months, Nadal has reasserted himself as the sport's pre-eminent force by winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles, lifting a first US Open crown and returning to the top of the world rankings.<br /><br />Yet Nadal's unique brand of poise and power has never translated well to indoor tournaments. He has won only one roofed event and he made a slow start here.<br /><br /></p>