Nadal returns to beat Isner at the France Open

 He is worthy enough when someone manages to win a set against Rafael Nadal at any stage of Garros - leave only two sets in the first round.

If a buzz built at Roland-Garros Tuesday when non-seeded American John Isner pulled ahead of five-time champion Nadal in his framework 6-foot-9 in the book of deployment is used more than 140 km/h, pushing the net repeatedly salveset generally doing uncomfortable Spanish for sections.

"Of course," Nadal admitted later, "it's a match I could have lost."

Ultimately, it is not. Stretched to five sets for the first time in 40 career French Open match, Nadal returned to emerge with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (2), 6 - 2, 6-4 victory Isner and reaching the second round.

"Really, what it came down to is the way in which he played in ensembles of fourth and fifth," said Isner. "I have not seen tennis like that, never."

That was the game more exciting day which included reigning US Open and first appearance of the Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters at the France Open since 2006, a 6 - 2, 6-3 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova. Also advancing was Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling and Sam Querrey.

Defending Rafael Nadal champion Spain, left, congratulates John Isner of the United States after their first game of the round of the French tennis tournament open, the stade Roland Garros in Paris, Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

Two seeded women lost: No. 20 Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, was eliminated 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-2 by Johanna Larsson, of Sweden, while no. 22 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia was beaten 6-7 (10), 6 - 3, 6-2 by Vania King in the United States. No. 11 Nicolas Almagro was left with a loss of five sets to Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

Bid for Nadal to tie Bjorn Borg to six Championships record in the clay-court Grand Slam tournament almost was order too-abrupt-to-believe.

Take into consideration:

-Nadal between day 38-1 at the French Open, his only defeat coming to Soderling finalist in the fourth round twice in 2009.

-Career of Isner Paris before Tuesday? A first round exit and a trip to the third round, for a 2-2 record.

-Nadal is ranked No. 1 and has nine Grand Slam titles.

-Isner is ranked 39th and never passed the fourth in a major tournament. He is known to this day for winning the longest game in the history of tennis, 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon last year and setting a record with 113 aces in this marathon.

-Up to the first two resolution Tuesday, Nadal had never lost a single set at the France Open since 2009. And he had never lost a set in one of the 12 first or second previous tour matches in the tournament.

All seemed rather boring when Nadal led Isner by a set and a break at 4-2 in the second. Isner broke at all when Nadal missed a forehand, but suddenly, a tight match ensued.

"That was when I started so to believe a little bit more," Isner says, "" and began to play with more confidence and strut over there.""

Nadal even was a little worried. A was Toni Nadal, Rafael coach and his uncle, who will later tell that from his perch in the stands he felt "very, very nervous, because losing in the first round is not too good for us."

But his nephew stops itself and zero - Yes, it's true, zero - natural errors in the fourth game, while Isner 12. Nadal broke Isner to a 2-1 advantage in the fourth game and who calls "the turning point."

Coach of the Isner, Craig Boynton, agreed.

"Rafa get up a break early in the fourth really helped his psyche,"Boynton says. ".