Nadal takes a step closer to La Decima

Fourth seed Nadal coasted to the most one-sided win of his Roland Garros career as his 63rd-ranked opponent, playing his first match on Philippe Chatrier Court, was struck down by stagefright. It was the 100th best-of-five set match on clay that Nadal had played in his career. 

His record now stands at 98-2 with his only two losses coming at Roland Garros. “Perfection? I don’t know about that,” said Nadal. Basilashvili, 25, hit just five winners and committed 34 unforced errors in his 90-minute horror show. Nadal, who turns 31 on Saturday, will meet fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the quarter-finals.

Veteran Indian star Leander Paes and his American partner Scott Lipsky crashed out of the French Open following a straight sets loss in the second round of the men’s doubles event at the tennis tournament here on Friday. The unseeded Indo-US combination produced a strong fight in the opening set before going down 7-6, 6-2 to the Spanish pair of David Marrero and Tommy Robredo in one hour and 31 minutes.