Towel mix-up only hiccup thus far in Nadal's Rome return

Rafael Nadal may have been away from the court for over six months, but it certainly doesn't look like it. The world No. 2 is back in action at this week's ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

The Spaniard didn't know what to expect heading into his first event back since late February, but had no issues finding his footing on the red clay. Although Nadal had never lost to Pablo Carreno Busta, his countryman was hot off an impressive semifinal run in New York. That didn't seem to matter as Nadal posted a 6-1, 6-1 score in one hour and 13 minutes to kick off his campaign at the Italian Open.

"I played a very solid match," Nadal said to press following his opening round. "Maybe Pablo was a little bit tired from a great tournament there in New York, but thinking about myself, I played a very solid match and very serious and doing a lot of things very well, no? So very happy."

It was very much the same song and dance in the No. 2 seed's third-round bout against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic. Nadal used his consistency and effortless movement on the dirt to defeat Lajovic, 6-1, 6-3, to reach his 15th Rome quarterfinal.

During the shutdown, Nadal took a couple months off without touching a racquet and slowly worked his way back into the shape he's in now. This week, his strength and conditioning work is paying off, and he's using each match as an opportunity to improve.

"I have to improve things, no? But the things that I have to improve, the only way to improve is to keep practicing with the right attitude and with the right intensity and to spend hours on the competition matches. That's the way," he stated.

However, Nadal isn't just looking to prepare for Roland Garros, he's vying for his 10th Italian Open title. The clay court tournament is a very special event for the 34-year-old.

"By the way, I never take Rome like preparation for nothing else, no? Rome is one of the most important and historic tournaments in our sport, so I always came here with the highest motivation possible," Nadal said.

The only minor hiccup the world No. 2 has endured so far is Lajovic stealing his towel by accident.

Nadal will take on Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals. He currently holds a 9-0 head-to-head record against the Argentine, and will look to score his 10th victory over Schwartzman on Saturday.