NADAL SHOWS NO MERCY

Defending champion Muguruza sweeps into Round Four, Raonic advances

Paris, June 2: Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal lost just one game in a ruthless display to reach the French Open last 16 on Thursday, while Garbine Muguruza gained further momentum in the defence of her title.

Nadal demonstrated why he is once more considered the overwhelming favourite at Roland Garros with a brutal demolition of Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.

The Spaniard romped to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 win, narrowly missing out on becoming just the sixth man in the Open era to record a “triple bagel”.

“Perfection? I don’t know about that,” said Nadal, who plans to celebrate his 31st birthday on Saturday by watching Real Madrid play Juventus in the Champions League final.

“I think I played very well today. The most important thing is to be through and I played my best match in a while.

“Tomorrow at 8.45 I’m going to be in front of the TV for sure supporting my team, hoping that Real will win another time.”

Nadal will meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Reigning champion Novak Djokovic faces Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, with the world number 41 through to the third round of a major for the first time. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic advanced to the last 16 when Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired with a thigh injury in the second set.

Raonic, a quarter-finalist in Paris in 2014, led 6-1, 1-0 before the veteran Spaniard, ranked 153, quit after just 28 minutes.

He will play Spanish 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who dumped out Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 75, 6-3, 6-4.

Belgian 10th seed David Goffin suffered a nasty ankle injury when he got caught up in court covers, forcing him to abandon his third-round tie with Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.

Goffin was leading 5-4 when he chased down the ball towards the back of the Suzanne Lenglen court.

However, his right foot got horribly jammed beneath the rolled-up tarpaulins before he tumbled into the wall and a linesman’s chair.

The 26-year-old was helped from the court