The 13-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal is in the third round in Paris after a 6: 0, 7: 5, 6: 0 triumph over Richard Gasquet in two hours and 14 minutes. Nadal scored his 102nd victory in Paris from 104 encounters and defeated Gasquet for the 17th time.
Time in as many games to completely dominate your contemporaries. The Spaniard had 36 winners and 23 unforced mistakes, lost his serve once and made seven breaks out of 16 opportunities to control the scoreboard.
Gasquet played well in the second half of the second set, but it wasn’t enough for a positive result as he hadn’t taken a set from Rafa since Toronto 2008! Nadal was the only player on the field in the first set and won it in no time after 11 winners and three unforced mistakes.
The Spaniard lost two points behind the first shot and secured three return legs for a 6-0 and the strongest start. Nadal held his serve in the first game and a few minutes later placed a return winner for a break and a 2-0 lead.
Rafa shot a backhand winner in game three to cement the break and widen the gap, looked good so far and took a 4-0 lead when Gasquet made a forehand error in game four.
Nadal never made a mistake, firing an unreturned serve in the fifth game and closing the opening set a few minutes later with a forehand crosscourt winner for his 40th.
6-0 at the majors.
Rafael Nadal scored Roland Garros’ 102nd victory over Richard Gasquet
The Spaniard quickly took a 5-2 lead in the second set, managed a set point in the eighth game before the Frenchman started his comeback, fended off a set point and won three games in a row before Rafa restored order and the set with him a late break.
Nadal got a break in the fourth game with a perfect drop-shot winner and held on to a 4-1 lead with a powerful serve. The 13-time champion faced a breakpoint in game seven, saved it with a drop-shot winner, and stopped to get closer to the finish line in the second set.
Gasquet saved a set point on service in game eight, scoring his first break of the game 3-5 and leveling the score to 5-5 to increase his chances. Nadal stayed calm and forced Gasquet’s mistake in 12.
Game to secure a break and the set and took another big step towards the finish line. Richard blocked two break chances at 1-2 in the third set to keep in touch before Nadal broke him two games later when Gasquet left a forehand on the net.
Nadal held his serve in the seventh game and sealed the deal with another break at 5-2 to advance to the third round.
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