Rafael Nadal survived an early scare and successfully began his bid for an eighth French Open title by rallying past Daniel Brands of Germany, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3.

Nadal, who had lost only 14 sets in 53 previous matches at Roland Garros, fell behind when he was broken in the ninth game and was on the verge of digging a deeper hole Monday. He trailed 3-0 in the tiebreaker, then summoned his best shot-making to salvage the set and soon was in control.

The Spaniard, who won a record seventh French Open title last year, improved to 53-1 at Roland Garros. He's 37-2 since returning in February after a seven-month layoff because of a left knee injury, reaching the finals at all eight previous tournaments he played this year and winning six.

The 6-foot-5 Brands, ranked 59th, gained a foothold in the match with his big forehand and serves of up to 134 mph, while Nadal's feared groundstrokes lacked their normal depth and force.

The capacity crowd on center court sensed a possible upset and began rooting for Brands, but he gave Nadal an opening in the tiebreaker, blowing an easy backhand approach to make it 3-all.

From there the match quickly turned. On set point Nadal stretched to crack a backhand return into the corner for a winner, then spun and threw a celebratory punch toward his box.

He was off to the races. Nadal earned his first service break of the match in the third set and held the rest of the way, serving better once he took the lead.

Seeded third but a heavy favorite, Nadal won his 16th consecutive match, and he improved to 34-0 in the first round at Grand Slams. He's trying to become the first man to win eight titles at the same major event.