Rafael Nadal begins his 2009 Masters Series Cincinnati campaign on Wednesday afternoon against Andreas Seppi.

Nadal leads the head-to-head series with Seppi at 3-1. Seppi prevailed early last year in Rotterdamn, while Nadal got the best of Seppi in 2005, 2006, and most recently this season at the Masters Series Rome.

Although Seppi is the underdog in this one, he probably fancies his chances as Nadal has looked rusty returning from injury.

The Spaniard was sidelined with knee tendinitis between the French Open and last week's Masters Series Montreal. In his return at the Rogers Cup, Nadal dispatched David Ferrer and Philipp Petzschner before falling to Juan Martin Del Potro.

Seppi is a solid player, who consistently plays well but rarely beats the top players.

Ignoring their previous hard-court clash, there is little reason to think Nadal won't ease through his opening Cincinnati match in straight sets.

Bet on Rafael Nadal vs Andreas Seppi with Bet365 and get access to live streams of the match.