Nadal Brings Tsunami To Advance At Roland Garros

Once it starts, it comes quickly, that Rafael Nadal tsunami of momentum and forehands. For 57 minutes, Argentine Guido Pella fought off the 10-time champion’s efforts to race through the opening set at Roland Garros. Pella saved six break points in the opener.

But Nadal, on his fifth set point, broke through and the games flowed from there as the Spaniard coasted to a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

The Spaniard had been 26-3 against left-handers at Grand Slams, a small but possible opening for the lefty Pella, considering Nadal’s current Roland Garros record of 81-2. But Nadal had no trouble striking his forehand often against the Argentine, and he’s again through to the Round of 32 in Paris, where the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings will meet a familiar foe in France’s Richard Gasquet.

The Frenchman denied Malek Jaziri’s attempt at Tunisian history 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. The 2016 quarter-finalist won almost 60 per cent of his second-serve points (16/28) to make the third round for the eighth consecutive year. Jaziri was attempting to become the first Tunisian man to reach the Roland Garros third round in 55 years.

“It was a long match with some strong moments, weak moments. I knew I had to pick up at the beginning of the third set. I knew that it was important at that moment. Otherwise it would have been very difficult,” Gasquet said.

“There were a lot of difficult rallies… I was glad to get 6-3, 6-0, because at the end of the second set I wasn’t sure I was going to win like that.”

Nadal and Gasquet were rivals during junior tennis. On the tour-level, they’ve played 15 times, but Nadal has won all of them in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including a third-round match at Roland Garros in 2005.

Watch: Gasquet Reflects On Playing Nadal As A Junior

They last played at the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (6-3, 6-4). Gasquet last won a set against Nadal at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Canada, 10 years and 11 FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups ago.

“I’ll try to do my best, because unless there is a disaster, as you said, he has a good chance of winning… He’s extraordinary. We all know he is,” Gasquet said. “I’m just going to get on the court and try to play a good match… I want to go there and to do my best. It’s a great draw for me. It will be on the centre court. There will be [a lot of] people. I intend to have a good match.”

Did You Know?
Gasquet won his 500th tour-level match last month at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the same tournament where Gasquet won his first tour-level contest in 2002. Read Tribute

Visit Official Roland-Garros Website