French Open Update: Nadal vs. Hewitt, Serena vs. Anastasia
Spanish tennis sensation Rafael Nadal continued his march towards a fifth French Open title as he outplayed his opponent in a straightforward straight-set win at the Roland Garros.
Nadal made up for lost time at the French Open on Friday with a resounding 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Argentina's Horacio Zeballos en route to the third round of the second Grand Slam of the year, around a day later than scheduled.
The Spaniard, dubbed the King of Clay, bidding to regain the title he won four years in succession looked in full flow as he brushed aside his Argentinean opponent in a one-sided encounter.
Nadal, who has been the player to beat on clay in recent years, has had a dream run on the French clay court.
His amazing rule of the red clay at Garros was snapped 12 months ago after a shocking fourth round loss to Swede Robin Soderling, but he looks a determined man this time around, and is emerging as a sure shot favourite for the tournament once again.
He looked ruthless with his baseline game, cutting a dashing figure in a lime green and blue shirt on the sun-kissed red clay, and his play also dazzled for the most part.
Nadal looked in complete control against the left-handed Zeballos, who was playing singles at the Roland Garros for the first time this year.
Zeballos had no answer to Nadal's superior power, and succumbed in one hour 45 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal's only blemish in the match was losing his serve at 4-2 in the third set, but he quickly gathered his composure and did not let the loss affect him.
In a vintage display, Nadal quickly broke back to book a third-round match against the former Wimbledon champion Australian Lleyton Hewitt who beat Uzbek Denis Istomin 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Meanwhile, American powerhouse Serena Williams was also at her brilliant best, as she went through to the next round in a brilliant display of tennis that left her opponent bewildered.
The effortless win helped Williams charge into the third round with a score line of 6-1, 6-1.
Her German challenger Julia Goerges was hardly in any form at all, falling in the one-sided encounter.
The 2002 champion had her match cancelled due to rain on Thursday, and she came out all guns blazing, simply dismantling her opponent who is placed at a lowly 77 in world rankings.
The one-sided match was played on a sun-soaked Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Serena, wearing a sky blue dress to match the much improved Paris weather, concluded a 55-minute stroll in the park when Goerges sprayed a backhand wide.
She will next face Russian 29th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the fourth round. Anastasia beat American Jill Craybas 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the third round.
Meanwhile, Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic scored a straight set win over Japan’s Kei Nishkori. The 2008 Australian Open champion recorded a 6-1 6-4, 6-4 win to progress to the next round.
The Serbian was in control in most part of the match, despite losing his serve twice in the match.
On the other hand, the Serb broke Nishkori six times in the match, as he capitalised on his opponent’s inexperience in big matches.
Nishkori did have his moments in the game, as is apparent with his 32 winners against Djokovic’s 27, yet it was at the crucial points of the game where he lost control and caved in.
Djokovic is yet to win the French open title, yet the Serb, given the title of “Joker” due to his on-court antics and mimicry of some of the tennis stars, looks set to go deep in this year’s championship.
However his true test is yet to come and it remains to be seen if the Serb can hold onto his game at the critical juncture of the tournament.
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