Rafael Nadal trounces Simone Bolelli to cruise into round two – French Open 2012
Defending champion, Rafael Nadal, crushed the Italian contestant, Simone Bolelli, with a breadstick at the Roland Garros 2012 on Tuesday. He jolted down a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory against the 26-year-old to power into the second round at this second of the
four Grand Slam events taking place from 22nd May to 10th June in Paris.
The left-handed Spaniard tumbled over Bolelli and stayed on track to not only bid for his seventh French Open title but also to reclaim his top spot at the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings. Both stars previously
battled each other at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open two years ago and after earning this success, Nadal improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the Italian.
"I'm happy," said Nadal, who revealed he does not know the exact colour of his shirt. "I played, probably, with less stress or nerves than in other first rounds in the past. I relaxed a little bit at 6-2, 4-0, [in] my opinion. I was playing very well at
beginning of the match. After I had the break [at 2-2], that period of eight, nine games, until 4-0, I was playing well."
The World number two proved his class in the begging of the match at the Court Philippe Chatrier. After the Italian held his serve in the fourth game, Nadal unleashed flurry of groundstrokes to stroke out the last four games in a row and clicked the opener
with a 6-2 win.
Nadal maintained his intensity in the follow-up set and went on a four-game killing spree before the Italian could grab a break back. After Bolelli held his serve for the first time in this set, the in-form Spaniard bagged the last two games and clinched
the set with a 6-2 score line.
In the third set, Nadal’s skills were fully polished as he earned the desiderated break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. After Bolelli plucked his serve in the fourth game, the Spaniard pocketed the last three games and pulled out the set with
a breadstick.
Overall, the former world number one clobbered an equal first serve share of 54 per cent but spectacularly availed 29 out of 38 points on it.
Next in line for Nadal is the Uzbekistani challenger, Denis Istomin, who crippled Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn with a breadstick to set-up this encounter.
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