Nadal, Djokovic post dominant wins in third round

PARIS: Rafael Nadal hammered 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the French Open third round on Friday to remain on course for a potential mouth-watering showdown against World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Van de Zandschulp began the match on a strong footing, breaking Nadal’s serve in the first game, but the Spaniard’s delivery looked almost impregnable for the remainder of the contest on Court Suzanne Lenglen. In his first career meeting with the Dutchman, fifth seed Nadal dictated terms from way behind the baseline, absorbing his opponent’s power and then bringing out his venomous forehand when required.

Van de Zandschulp, currently at a career-high ranking of 29th, staged a brief comeback in the third set when he won three games in a row from 0-4 down. However, Nadal, who will turn 36 years old next week, had the cushion to not be threatened.

Nadal broke the 26-year-old’s service twice in each of the three sets and hit 25 winners while keeping a lid on his unforced errors. The left-hander closed out the contest with an overhead smash down the middle on his second match point.

Meanwhile, Djokovic powered past Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round. Bedene, ranked 195th after an eight-month layoff and a return to action in March, was no match for Djokovic’s power and near-flawless service games.

The Serb wasted three break points at 2-1 in the first set, but quickly got another chance to breeze through the opener. The 35-year-old got two breaks in the second set to clinch it as quickly as the first, with Bedene failing to carve out a single break chance throughout the match. The third set went in similar fashion as Djokovic broke early and Bedene, who made twice as many unforced errors as his rival, failed to respond.

In the women’s draw, Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez battled past Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to advance to the last-16 in Paris for the first time.

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