Nadal eases through with 200th Slam win
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 22 May to 5 June |
| Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, the BBC Sport website and app. |
Rafael Nadal registered his 200th Grand Slam victory with a crushing 6-3 6-0 6-3 win over Facundo Bagnis in the second round of the French Open.
The Spaniard, who is attempting to win a 10th title at Roland Garros, dropped the first two games against the world number 99 but then won 18 of the next 22 to ease through.
He will play either Marcel Granollers or Nicolas Mahut in round three.
Roger Federer tops the all-time list of Grand Slam matches won, with 302.
Novak Djokovic also made light work of his opponent, beating Belgium’s Steve Darcis 7-5 6-3 6-4 to advance.
It means the world number one, who has never won the tournament despite reaching the final three times, will play Britain’s Aljaz Bedene next.
- Read more: Bedene to play Djokovic in third round
- Sharapova named in Russia’s Olympic team
Safe passage for top women
Serena Williams – the three-time winner and defending champion – destroyed Brazil’s Teliana Pereira 6-2 6-1 with another clinical display to follow her first-round demolition of Magdalena Rybarikova in just 42 minutes.
The 34-year-old American will face the winner of the tie between France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos of Hungary for a place in the last 16.
Eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky impressed in beating Canada’s Euguenie Bouchard 6-4 6-4 while Ana Ivanovic also won in straight sets in her tie against Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro beat Wang Qiang of China 6-1 6-3.
Zebras on the loose
Keen observers will have noticed a number of the players at this week’s tournament wearing zebra-inspired kit.
Stars including former champion Ivanovic, 2014 runner-up Simona Halep and ex-Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych have all sported the black-and-white stripes – the brainchild of Adidas’ Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.
But opinion is split.
Andre Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert tweeted a comparison with employees of a high-street clothing chain: “What’s up with so many players looking like FootLocker employees on safari? U digging the Zebra shirts?”
However, Ivanovic defended the outfits which she believes are “beautiful” – and compared them to the football kit of her favourite club, Partizan Belgrade.
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