French Open: Nadal marches into third round

Defending champion Rafael Nadal eased to a straight-set victory against Germany's Yannick Maden to extend his French Open wins to 88.

Published : May 29, 2019 18:47 IST

Rafael Nadal's French Open record now stands at 88-2.
Rafael Nadal's French Open record now stands at 88-2.
lightbox-info

Rafael Nadal's French Open record now stands at 88-2.

Rafael Nadal powered into the French Open third round on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over German qualifier Yannick Maden to continue his bid for a 12th Roland Garros title.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion was in dominant form for the majority of the match and will play Belgian 27th seed David Goffin for a place in the second week.

Nadal's win-loss record at the French Open now reads an astounding 88-2.

“He (Maden) is a good player. He had already won four matches so was full of confidence,” he said. “For me it was an important victory.”

The 32-year-old Spaniard wasted little time in wrapping up the first two sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

World number 114 Maden may have briefly allowed himself to dream of an outrageous upset when he broke twice to level at 3-3 and then 4-4 in the third set, but Nadal put him back in his place with two quick games to seal victory.

Nadal appears to be hitting form at just the right time, after following three consecutive semi-final defeats on clay with the Italian Open title before arriving in Paris.

He finished the match with 43 winners against just 23 unforced errors as Maden simply could not contain his illustrious opponent's charge.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment