Madrid, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Two-time defending and four-time overall champion Rafael Nadal was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the Madrid Open.
After enjoying an opening-round bye, the third-seeded former world No. 1 great eased past American two-time NCAA singles champion Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3 at the Magic Box in this clay-court Masters 1000 event.
Nadal captured a second straight Madrid title last year by beating Japan's Kei Nishikori in the final.
Up next for the nine-time French Open king will be Simone Bolelli, who overcame fellow Italian Luca Vanni 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Day 4.
In other action involving Top-10 seeds, No. 6 Czech Tomas Berdych topped last week's Estoril champion Richard Gasquet of France 7-6 (7-3), 7-5; No. 7 David Ferrer took care of fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-0; Spain's Fernando Verdasco ousted No. 9 U.S. Open champ Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; and No. 10 Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov came from behind to defeat Italian Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Also on Wednesday, Argentine Leonardo Mayer erased 11th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6); 12th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outlasted game American Jack Sock 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4); 14th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed American Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-4; and 16th-seeded American John Isner held off Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (11-13), 6-1.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.