Bartoli will next meet Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and Radwanska shall take on Russia's Olympic champion Elena Dementieva.

Nadal should have finished earlier while serving for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set, but the 29-year-old Blake restored his form in time, forcing a tiebreak. Leading at 6-1, theAmerican converted on the third set point to level the match.

James Blake of the U.S. reacts during the men's singles second round match against Rafael Nadal of Spain at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Oct. 8, 2009. Blake lost 1-2.

"He's a very good player and his return is very fast," said Nadal, who is competing in Beijing for the first time since clinching the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. "I think I played a very good match. I feel it was one of my best matches after my knee injury. I'm happy with how I played today.

"Every match is important; every win is very important. Every win gives you confidence. I feel it was a very good win. I didn't have a lot of bad shots with the forehand, so that's important," added the world number two.

The 23-year-old Mallorcan captured the 2005 Beijing title over Argentine Guillermo Coria. He has improved to a 56-8 record this season, highlighted by the Australian Open crown and four ATP world tour trophies.

Safin, 29, had a much easier time of it in his second round match, beating an out-of-sorts Gonzalez and snapping a six-match losing streak against the Chilean dating back to February 2005.

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