Nadal hails outsider for making him suffer

Rafael Nadal recovered from the shock of losing the first set of his French Open title defence to world No 59 Daniel Brands by battling into the second round at Roland Garros.

Spain’s Nadal — a seven-time champion in Paris — was stunned by the wicked serve of the German hopeful and lost the first set of a first round match at a grand slam event for the first time in his career.

Brands threatened to take the second set, too, only to lose his concentration during a tie-break that handed the initiative back to the world No 4, who steadily resisted the German’s big hitting on his way to a 4-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 6-3 victory.