Nishikori strolls into third round, Ferrer exits Radwanska digs deep to claim win
POTENTIAL BLOCKBUSTER After Spanish opponent Almagro quit due to injury, Del Potro could run into Murray
Juan Martin del Potro set up a potential French Open blockbuster against Andy Murray on Thursday after a heartfelt display of compassion towards a stricken rival.
The giant Argentine, no stranger to injury after a careerlong battle with wrist problems, made the third round after Spanish opponent Nicolas Almagro quit in tears during the third set of their tie with a left knee injury.
Del Potro, 28, had taken the first set of the second round clash 6-3 before Almagro claimed the next by the same score.
They were locked at 1-1 in the third when Almagro quit.
Del Potro, playing Paris for the first time in five years after battling a series of wrist injuries, also suffered an injury scare himself when he pulled up, holding his left leg in the second set.
The former US Open champion goes on to face either world number one Murray or Martin Klizan for a place in the last 16.
Del Potro reached the quarterfinals on his last appearance in 2012 with a best run to the semifinals three years earlier.
Murray, the 2016 runner-up to Novak Djokovic, tackles fiery Slovak Klizan for a place in the third round.
World number 50 Klizan has already hit the headlines in Paris by being accused of faking an injury in his opener against French wildcard Laurent Lokoli.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, was bidding to make the last 32 for the 10th time against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine.
Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori routed France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7/5).
The world number nine will face South Korean Hyeon Chung for a place in the last 16.
Nishikori’s best performance at Roland Garros came in 2015 when he reached the quarter-finals.
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic, the seventh seed, made the third round for the seventh time thanks to a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over 32-yearold Konstantin Kravchuk, the Russian world number 129 making his Paris debut.
“How far I can go? I don’t know. It’s not up to me only. I’m very satisfied with the way I’m playing,” said Cilic.
Unseeded 21-year-old Karen Khachanov of Russia continued his impressive debut, beating Czech 13th seed Tomas Berdych, a semi-finalist seven years ago, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
Big-serving John Isner of the United States fired 21 aces to defeat Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2).
Isner and Lorenzi were two of the 30 men in the second round aged over 30 -- an Open era record at any Slam.
Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova and third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, both firm women’s title favourites after the first round exit of world number one Angelique Kerber, look for places in the last 32.
Pliskova has never got beyond the second round in six previous attempts.
The 25-year-old Czech faces Russian world 86 Ekaterian Alexandrova who has never beaten a top five rival.
Halep, the 2014 runner-up, said she was “50-50” at the weekend due to an ankle ligament injury picked up in Rome.
But after her opening round win over Jana Cepelova she said she was “80 percent recovered”.
On Thursday, she faces German world number 102 Tatjana Maria who is bidding to make the third round for the first time.
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina, a quarter-finalist in 2015 and recent Rome champion, made the third round by beating Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska lived up to her nickname as the ‘Professor’ when she dug deep into her toolbox of tactics to repel tenacious qualifier Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7(3) 6-2 6-3 in the French Open second round on Thursday.
The world number 10, in her first tournament in five weeks following a foot injury, will now face local favourite Alize Cornet.
The Pole said she had a point to prove at Roland Garros after her 2016 meltdown -- when she squandered a 6-2 3-0 lead in soggy conditions - in a shock fourth defeat against Tsvetana Pironkova.
“Unfinished business, you said it well,” Radwanska told reporters when asked about her 2016 exit. “I am hoping the weather stays like that this time. I feel good in this heat.”
On Thursday, Radwanska was taken by surprise in the first set on a sun-drenched Court Suzanne Lenglen when the aggressive Belgian, ranked 103 spots below her, went 3-1 up and squandered four break points to go 4-1 up.
Despite fighting back, the Pole could not handle her opponent’s big kicking serve and stream of drop shots and Van Uytvanck bagged the tiebreak with a smash.
“She started very well and on clay she can do a lot of things,” Radwanska said. “She was mixing up a lot of shots. She can hit the ball really well.
“In the second set I had to play my game and not wait for her mistakes.”
Radwanska, whose best grand slam performance was reaching the 2012 Wimbledon final, decided to change tactics and mixed it up as well, rushing to the net more often and attacking the Belgian’s high-bouncing serve early to race through the second set 6-2.
The 23-year-old Van Uytvanck, who underwent wrist surgery in December and has made only one WTA main draw appearance this year prior to Roland Garros, was broken in the third game and the Pole never looked back.
Radwanska won her match when her opponent dumped a backhand into the net after two hours and 23 minutes.
“Clay is not my favourite surface. I am not expecting miracles here but I will try my best.”
WORLD NUMBER 50 KLIZAN HAS ALREADY HIT THE HEADLINES IN PARIS BY BEING ACCUSED OF FAKING AN INJURY IN HIS OPENER AGAINST WILDCARD LAURENT LOKOLI.