World number two Rafael Nadal shook off a bit of Wimbledon rust with crushing 6-4 6-2 win over American qualifier Jesse Levine to reach the Toronto Masters third round yesterday.

Playing his first match since his epic five-set victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, Nadal struggled to find his rhythm and fell 4-1 behind in the opening set.

But once the Spaniard found his range Levin had few answers, Nadal tearing through the next five games to take the first set.

Levine halted his slide by holding serve to open the second but the relentless Nadal responded by sweeping the next three games to seize control.

The victory stretched Nadal's unbeaten run to 25 matches, the French Open champion taking the first step towards his seventh title of the season and another possible showdown with Federer, who plays in-form Frenchman Gilles Simon later yesterday.

"The first match is always tough, especially after one week off after Wimbledon," Nadal, who claimed his first career hardcourt title in Canada in 2005, told reporters.

"I only had a few days for practise, it's important to think that I can come back and I won. I'm happy for that."

After torrential rain and lightning storms forced officials to cram an entire day's play into one session, Marat Safin was scheduled to play his first and second round matches in a matter of hours.

The Russian sped to 6-3 6-3 win over American Sam Querrey and plays Swiss ninth seed Stanislas Wawrinka later.

Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer needed just two sets but over five hours to seal a 6-4 6-4 win over American Robby Ginepri in a rain-interrupted match. Twelfth seed Tommy Robredo of Spain was upset 6-3 6-4 by Croatia's Marin Cilic.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 24, 2008)