Santiago, Feb 6 (IANS): Tennis former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal made a winning return to the circuit after being out for more than seven months due to a left knee injury.

The Spaniard partnered Juan Monaco to beat Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy from Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2 in the VTR clay-court tournament here Tuesday, reports Xinhua.

Nadal, who was bothered by a lingering knee problem, had not played since June 28 when he was upset in the second round of Wimbledon Open.

"The knee, I said it when I got here. I would prefer not to keep talking about the topic," Nadal said. "At the end of the day the doctors have said it's OK. There is no risk of making it worse. My knee keeps hurting. But the fact I am playing here is a thing of joy."

"I am not 100 percent, I need some weeks," he added. "If it hurts, it hurts and we'll put up with it. I am here to play tennis, with or without pain. ...I'm happy to have played an official game, although it was doubles."

Nadal will play in singles Wednesday against Argentine Federico Delbonis.