Rafael Nadal has won his first match on the blue clay at the Madrid Masters, defeating Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2 in the second round.

Nadal had little trouble on the surface that he criticised this week as soft and slippery, hitting six aces.

“I played much better than I expect,” Nadal said.

“The (blue) court … doesn’t make you feel comfortable. It’s difficult, hard to attack and come back to defend. You just have to try and adapt.”

Nadal, who broke his Russian opponent four times to advance to the third round, will next meet Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard defeated Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 6-4.

Also, Marin Cilic beat John Isner 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) and fifth-seeded David Ferrer advanced by beating Radek Stepanek 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

“It has nothing to do with the courts, I just didn’t play well,” said Isner, who praised his Croatian opponent. “He has played better and he deserves to win.”

Other men’s winners on Wednesday included Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Russia and French pair Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet.

The third-seeded Kvitova struggled with her serve against Hradecka. Kvitova was broken five times by Hradecka of Czech republic, who will face Ekaterina Makarova in the third round. Makarova beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-4 6-4 to advance.