(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal survived a scare in his opening round match against John Isner at the French Open on Tuesday as the big-serving American took the five-time champion to five sets. The World No.1 eventually prevailed against marathon man Isner 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4 in just over four hours to set up a second round match with compatriot Pablo Andujar. Nadal started the match in typically dominant fashion breaking Isner in the seventh game of the opening set, before serving out to take a one-set lead. But Isner -- who won the 11-hour epic against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon last year -- wasn't about to give up and promptly raised his game.
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Five-time French Open champion beats American John Isner in opening French Open tie
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Isner led two sets to one, but Nadal fight back ensures passage to second round
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Andy Murray and Robin Soderling both into second round after victories on Tuesday
The six-foot-nine American -- ranked 39 in the world -- took both the second and third sets on the tiebreak raising the prospect of handing Nadal only his second defeat at @placeholder and causing one of the biggest upsets in years.