British number one Kyle Edmund is among the group of younger players who could challenge 10-time champion Rafael Nadal at the French Open, says former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.

Nadal, 31, is the favourite to win again at Roland Garros this year.

Edmund, who has risen to 17th in the world, reached his first Grand Slam semi-final in Australian in January.

“Kyle loves the clay,” said Cash. “He has got that little bit of extra time to get round on that big forehand.”

Describing the Briton’s forehand as “a massive weapon”, Cash added: “He is faster and fitter, his backhand is very solid – it isn’t a weakness like it was – and his serve has got better.”

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Edmund lists clay as his favourite surface, although the 23-year-old Yorkshireman has never gone past the third round at Roland Garros in three attempts.

He started his latest campaign in Paris – his first Slam as a seed and as Britain’s leading male – with a clinical straight-set win over Australian teenager Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.

Cash says Edmund can be ranked just behind German second seed Alexander Zverev and Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem – the only player to have beaten Nadal on the red dirt in the past two years – as potential heirs to the Spaniard, who is known as the ‘King of Clay’.

“Kyle is up there when people say ‘who are the new guys coming though on clay?'” Cash told BBC Radio 5 live Tennis.

“Zverev and Thiem have already come through and Kyle is in that handful of players who will definitely be up there in the next few years – and maybe this year.”

However, Cash describes beating Nadal on clay as the “toughest thing in sport” and also believes 2016 champion Novak Djokovic – who has only recently returned from an elbow injury – stands little chance of competing for a 13th Grand Slam title.

“Novak just hasn’t played a lot of matches – you have to have matches under your belt to be successful on the clay,” the Australian, who is coaching American women’s 15th seed Coco Vandeweghe, said.

“I’m not sure he can get that far.”

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Rafael Nadal began his campaign for an 11th French Open title with a rain-delayed 6-4 6-3 7-6 (11-9) win over Italy’s Simone Bolelli.

Resuming 3-0 down in the third set, Nadal swiftly recovered the break but was pushed hard by the world number 129.

The Spaniard saved three set points from 6-3 down in the tie-break before prevailing in damp conditions.

Nadal will play Argentina’s Guido Pella in the second round.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro started slowly before overcoming French wildcard Nicolas Mahut, beating the world number 116 1-6 6-1 6-2 6-4.

Elsewhere third-seeded Croat Marin Cilic, who has reached the final of two of the past three Grand Slams, saw off Australia’s James Duckworth 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-4).

American ninth seed John Isner hit 28 aces as he overcame compatriot Noah Rubin via two tie-breaks, 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (9-7) while US Open runner-up Kevin Anderson also had a straight-set win, beating Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi.

Nadal, who will match Margaret Court’s all-time record for most singles titles at the same Grand Slam event if he lifts the title again, won the 2017 crown without dropping a set.

He frequently looked unsettled by Bolelli’s bold baseline hitting and claimed afterwards that the surface was different to what he was used to at a venue where he has won 80 of his 82 matches.

“The court is more slippery than usual and I slid a lot when I started off or when I moved to another side, and it was quite complicated,” he said.

“You can see that there are many more whiter zones than other years, because there are little pebbles underneath, and that’s why you don’t have the proper grip on the court.”

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British number one Kyle Edmund reached the French Open second round for the fourth successive year with an opening win against Australian Alex de Minaur.

Edmund, who is seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time, won 6-4 6-2 6-3 at Roland Garros.

De Minaur, 19, is considered a rising star of Australian tennis, but could not cope with 16th seed Edmund’s accuracy and power.

The Briton will play Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the second round.

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Fucsovics, ranked 45th in the world, progressed with a 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

Edmund is the third Briton through to the second round in Paris, following opening victories for Cameron Norrie and Heather Watson on Monday.

Meanwhile, compatriots Ken and Neal Skupski ousted 16th seeds Mike Bryan and Sam Querrey in the men’s doubles 7-5 6-4, but Dominic Inglot and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor lost 6-4 6-3 to eighth seeds Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya.

Edmund revels under the spotlight

Edmund has enjoyed a rapid rise over the opening five months of the season, climbing to a career-high world ranking of 17 and taking the scalp of 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in Madrid.

He took over from the injured Andy Murray as the British number one in March, meaning it is the first Grand Slam since the 2006 US Open that the three-time major champion has not been ranked as the country’s leading man.

Edmund said he felt no added pressure or expectation from the dual position as a top-16 seed and Britain’s leading hope – and a ruthless performance against De Minaur bore that out.

“The way it has gone with Andy obviously not playing very much and me becoming British number one, there is just a bit more attention, media, maybe a bit more expectation from people,” he said.

“But that’s just part of the territory with sport.

“There has been a little bit more buzz around the matches, nothing complicated. It’s not like it’s my first time at a Grand Slam so you know what to expect.”

The Yorkshireman cruised to the opening set in just 29 minutes, breaking De Minaur’s opening serve and breaking again for a 4-1 lead.

A hold-to-love put Edmund within a game of the first set and, after missing a set point to break the Australian, he cleaned up on his own serve.

Edmund staved off three break points in the second set before seizing the momentum to go 3-2 and 5-4 ahead after the pair traded breaks, using his trademark thumping forehand to seal the second set.

De Minaur started to lose his temper towards the end of the second set, frustrated with his inability to build on that break of serve.

His mood was not improved when Edmund broke again in the opening game of the third set, the Briton going on to see out victory in just one hour 56 minutes.

Edmund’s experience proves too much

De Minaur has a soaring reputation on the ATP Tour after reaching his first final at the Sydney International in January, shortly after a victory over former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic on his way to the Brisbane quarter-finals.

Murray was impressed by the teenager’s performances, praising his attitude and flair during the Australian Open on social media.

So it did not look like the easiest draw for Edmund, especially on a clay surface that suits De Minaur’s sharp movement.

Edmund already had experience of beating De Minaur, however, winning in straight sets at the Estoril Open this month, and he refused to allow him back into a match that ended with the Briton winning 85% of his first-serve points and hitting 28 winners.

“I was pleased with how I managed my game,” he said.

“I did the controllables really well in terms of my game and serving well and when I am on the front foot, not laying back on the point.

“It was good to really execute well, especially against a guy like Alex where it can get quite tough easily if you don’t play well.”

Analysis

British number three Naomi Broady on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

It was a job very well done by Kyle Edmund – he played fantastically. Alex de Minaur was not an easy draw, especially on clay because he is such a good mover.

Kyle was in great form mentally as well, which is sometimes even more important.

When you’re looking to get into the second week you know you have to play the top players so you want to save energy at the start of the tournament.

If you can be as clinical as Kyle was then, it helps going forwards.

Third seed Garbine Muguruza won a tricky encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova in a French Open first-round match between two former champions.

After a 90-minute rain interruption at 5-5 in the first set, Wimbledon winner Muguruza triumphed 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.

Kuznetsova of Russia, who won the title in 2009, pushed the Spaniard hard but was undone by the 2016 champion’s attacks at the net.

Day three features other ex-champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

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