?Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to his compatriot Feliciano Lopez during their thirdround match at the Italian Open yesterday.

Rafael Nadal overcame a virus to beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the Italian Open yesterday.

The start of the match was delayed by about 20 minutes as Nadal considered withdrawing.

"I had a fever last night and this morning I didn't feel better," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to go on the court for the match. I decided at the last moment."

To keep his No. 1 ranking for at least one more week, Nadal will need to beat American Mardy Fish or Marin Cilic of Croatia in the quarterfinals. Otherwise, Novak Djokovic could claim the top spot by winning the tournament.

In his opening match on Wednesday, Nadal struggled past 148th-ranked qualifier Paolo Lorenzi 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-0. That marked the third consecutive match in which Nadal dropped the first set, having also rallied to beat Roger Federer in the Madrid Open semifinals and then lost in straight sets to Djokovic in Sunday's final.

"I didn't understand why I felt so slow yesterday, why I had no energy. I understand today," Nadal said.

This is Nadal's fourth tournament of the clay season, having won titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona before falling to Djokovic in Madrid. He was asked if his grueling schedule is wearing him down.

"I don't know," Nadal said. "That's something that's impossible to control. Usually I don't have this type of virus or fever and this is the second time this year."

Health

Nadal said his health could also be affected by his constant travel from one tournament to the next.

"That's not positive for the body. That's probably what's happening," he said.

Against Lopez, Nadal got out to an early lead in the first set, but then handed Lopez back a break to make it 4-3 by missing a routine forehand into the net. Lopez then held at love as Nadal didn't even attempt to run down one shot that appeared within reach.

Fortunately for Nadal, the 40th-ranked Lopez was not particularly sharp either, and made three consecutive errors before Nadal landed a backhand cross-court passing shot to break again and win the first set.

In women's action, Australian Open runner-up Li Na of China rolled past Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-2, 6-1; Jelena Jankovic edged Spanish qualifier Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; and last year's French Open finalist Sam Stosur beat Slovenian qualifier Polona Hercog 6-3, 6-4.