Despite suffering from fever, Rafael Nadal was able to defeat Feliciano Lopez,  6-4, 6-2, on Thursday in the third round of the Italian Open.

Nadal said, “I had a fever last night and this morning I didn’t feel better. I didn’t know if I was going to go on the court for the match. I decided at the last moment…I went to the doctor this morning and he told me to sleep a bit and see how I felt. That’s what I did. I was a bit better and the game worked out better than yesterday.”

The world number one will need to beat Croatian Marin Cilic or American Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals to retain his ranking.

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