Booming start for Nadal; Djoker up
FRENCH OPEN In quest for 10th title, Nadal beats Frenchman Benoit Paire 61, 64, 61 in less than two hours
PARIS: Rafael Nadal responded to his billing by French Open tournament director Guy Forget as the greatest claycourter in history by brushing aside Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 on Monday, launching his bid for a 10th title on the Paris clay.
Relegated to Court Suzanne Lenglen while defending champion Novak Djokovic was swatting aside Marcel Granollers on the main Philippe Chatrier showcourt, Nadal was imperious as he steamed through the first set in under half an hour.
The heaviest of favourites for what would be his 15th Grand Slam title, he looked every inch the all-time number one Forget had urged a packed crowd to welcome him as before the players stepped on court. Both before the match and in courtside comments following his win, Nadal described Paire as a dangerous opponent, and the Frenchman played with more freedom in a closer second set as the Spaniard lost his edge. Trading baseline rallies, they exchanged breaks to leave Paire leading 4-3. He had two break points in the following game that he failed to covert, the moment at which he indicated the momentum shifted. “I got two balls, one when I missed my return, and then if it was 5-3 I thought I could finish the set and perhaps I could kind of liberate myself,” he told a news conference. “...(So) it’s a bit frustrating to end a game like that.
Channelling the confidence built up during a 17-match winning streak in taking claycourt titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, Nadal then pulled clear as Paire suffered a reaction to taking energy tablets.
DJOKOVIC STARTS AGASSI ERA WITH WIN
Djokovic beat Spain’s Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round here. The 12-time Grand Slam champion parted company with his entire coaching team earlier this month to work with Agassi during the French Open.
The 30-year-old Serbian, without a tour title since January, found little resistance from Granollers, grabbing two breaks early on in the first set as he chased the 77th-ranked Spaniard around the court.
With Agassi, sporting a black t-shirt and sunglasses, quietly sitting in the stands along with the Serb’s entourage, it was a similar story early in the second set with the world number two returning everything Granollers tried to throw at him.
He again went 4-1 up before a wobble saw him fail to convert eight set points at 5-3.
Djokovic kept his cool to earn the second set and pounced on the Spaniard’s accumulating mistakes in the third set to seal victory on his first match point.
With Agassi making a fast exit from the stands at the conclusion of the match, Djokovic heaped praise on his new coach.
“It is an incredible honour and good luck to have him with me on the team,” Djokovic said. “Every day is special with him. I am learning something every day.