Djokovic, Nadal ease through

Paris

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal eased closer to a French Open quarter-final 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 number 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. Halys, making his Grand Slam debut, was broken five times and made 52 unforced errors.

Nadal goes on to face compatriot Nicolas Almagro for a place in the last 32.

“I played well. I changed direction with my forehands down the line. After the first three games I was moving better,” said Nadal. “I have had ups and downs this season. I am trying to avoid that happening here. But I am here to play well and compete. That is my mentality and the goal is always the same.”

MAGNIFICIENT CONDITIONS

Canadian sixth seed Bouchard, a semi-finalist in 2014, crashed out at the hands of France’s Kristina Mladenovic.

Bouchard went down 6-4, 6-4 to the world number 44, her eighth defeat in her last nine matches.

Mladenovic, 22, goes on to face either Danka Kovinic of Montenegro or Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic.

The world number 44 has a liking for Court Suzanne Lenglen — last year she knocked out Chinese star Li Na at the same stage.
“To get past the first round in these conditions, it’s magnificent,” she said.

Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Petra Kvitova needed two and a half hours to see off New Zealand’s world number 80 Marina Erakovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, getting broken six times and committing 47 unforced errors.

The 25-year-old goes on to face Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain.

Serbian 25th seed Jelena Jankovic, a three-time semi-finalist, suffered her first opening-round loss in a decade when she went down 6-3, 6-4 to Bulgarian qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva.

Spain’s David Ferrer won his 300th claycourt match when he swept past Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko. (AFP)

AFP