Easy victories for Djokovic, Nadal
NOVAK Djokovic and Rafael Nadal eased closer to a French Open quarterfinal showdown yesterday, but women’s tour poster girl Eugenie Bouchard was a first-round casualty.
Top seed Djokovic, bidding to win a first French Open and become just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam, defeated experienced Jarkko Nieminen 6-2 7-5 6-2.
The victory over 33-year-old Finn, who was playing in his 50th major, was Djokovic’s 23rd consecutive win this year.
The 28-year-old Serb, seeded to meet nine-time champion Nadal in the last eight, will next face either Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller or Paolo Lorenzi of Italy.
Nadal opened his bid for a 10th title with a 6-3 6-3 6-4 win over world No 296 Quentin Halys.
Nadal, seeded a humble six this year – his lowest for a decade – needed just one hour and 50 minutes to see off the 18-year-old and record his 67th career win at Roland Garros.
The defending champion came into the tournament without a European claycourt title for the first time since 2005 and with many in the sport writing him off as a spent force.
But in a cheeky riposte to his critics, the 14-time major winner played with the number “9” stitched into the heels of his tennis shoes to remind people of his astonishing record at the tournament, where he has only ever lost once.
“I played well. I changed direction with my forehands down the line. After the first three games, I was moving better,“Nadal said.
No 1 seed Serena Williams went through to the second round with a straight sets victory against Czech qualifier Andrea Hlavackova.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion won 6-2 6-3 in just 59 minutes and goes on to face either Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany or American Alexa Glatch.
Canadian sixth seed Bouchard, a semifinalist last year, crashed out at the hands of France’s Kristina Mladenovic.
Bouchard went down 6-4 6-4 to the world No 44, her eighth defeat in her last nine matches.
Fifth seed and former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki beat Italy’s Karin Knapp 6-3 6-0. – AFP