NADAL’S REAL MADRID SCARE
THE only thing to shock Rafael Nadal at the French Open yesterday was the resignation of Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. Real fan Nadal heard the news that the Champions League-winning boss was leaving before he took on Argentina’s Guido Pella.
‘Of course it was a surprise for everybody, no?’ he said. ‘But Zidane is a top person. He’s a person that it is tough to accept that he’s leaving. For my side, I just can say thanks for all the things that he did for Madrid. I hope he will be back.’
That was where the shocks ended, though, as the world number one and 10-time champion dropped just four games in a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 6-1 victory. Nadal admitted he took things a little too easy in dispatching Simone Bolelli in straight sets over two days in the first round, but definitely moved up a gear against Pella.
The world number 78 put up a decent fight, especially in the first set. But facing deuce after deuce on his own serve, with Nadal pounding away from the back of the court, he understandably wilted.
‘I have to be happy, no?’ added Nadal. ‘It’s of course a great result. It’s not possible without playing well.’ Nadal will face France’s 29th seed Richard Gasquet in the third round. Meanwhile, Serena Williams has advanced to the third round. Faced with the skilful Australian number one Ashleigh Barty, the 36-year-old overcame a hesitant start with a show of will that saw her win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. And while the American will be at Wimbledon, she will not be bringing her much discussed new catsuit with her. Williams (left) has, according to an All England Club spokesperson, already submitted her tennis attire for approval. She will be playing with a more consistent self-assurance by the time she reaches SW19, although her standard already proved to be too much for the 17th seed, an impressive scalp at this stage of her comeback.
The American was wayward and had her rusty movement exposed in the opening set, but then fired herself up for the start of the second to look more like the player who left off after winning the 2017 Australian Open. Her fist-pumping win, which sees her now face German Julia Goerges, means an eagerly-anticipated meeting in the fourth round with Maria Sharapova is only one match away. The Russian progressed to one stage before that with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Croatian Donna Vekic.
To make it happen, Sharapova has to overcome sixth seed Karolina Pliskova.