Nadal inches closer to French Open title defence

World number one races to last 16 with win over Argentina’s Mayer.

PARIS:

Rafael Nadal produced another imposing display of claycourt tennis at Roland Garros on Saturday to crush Argentinian Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 and reach the last 16 of the French Open.

Seeking to become the first man to win five straight titles in Paris and the first to win nine times at the same Grand Slam, Nadal has lost just 19 games in getting to the last 16.

At the same stage last year en route to his eighth French Open title, Nadal had dropped two sets and lost 48 games.

Mayer, ranked 65th in the world, had little to offer as Nadal led from the start and was able to play well within his limits and still race away with the match.

Next up for the Spaniard, who will turn 28 on Tuesday, is little-known Serb Dusan Lajovic, who saw off American hope Jack Sock 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.



Need tips to beat Nadal, says Lajovic

Asked if he would be asking for advice on how to tackle Nadal from fellow Serb Novak Djokovic, Lajovic wryly replied, “Yeah, I will try to ask everybody some tips against Nadal.

“You need to have a lot of tips and confidence to beat him, but I hope to enjoy the match if he wins and to give my best.”

The man Nadal defeated in last year’s final, fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, also reached the last 16 by defeating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

He will now go on to take on 19th seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa who moved through when opponent Ivo Karlovic of Croatia retired with a back injury after losing the first set 6-3.

Halep glides into fourth round

Simona Halep had too many tricks up her sleeve for Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor as the fourth seed glided into the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-3, 6-0 win on Saturday.

The wily Romanian, the highest seed left in the draw after Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska were knocked out early, found perfect angles and defended superbly to counter Torro-Flor’s powerful forehand in Paris.

“It’s not a surprise because I’m more confident now in myself, and I feel the ball really well here at the French Open,” said Halep.

Halep, who has dropped only 11 games in three straight-set wins, will next meet American 15th seed Sloane Stephens for a place in the quarter-finals.

Stephens was in less devastating form than in her first two matches, but she was still too strong for Ekaterina Makarova in a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Russian left-hander.

Roland Garros has not been a happy hunting ground for Ana Ivanovic since she won the title in 2008 and the popular Serbian failed to break that jinx on Saturday as she lost 6-3, 6-3 to Czech Lucie Safarova.

The 23rd seed will face another champion in 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova after the Russian 27th seed beat Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova  6-7(3), 6-1, 9-7 in three hours 13 minutes on court Philippe Chatrier.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2014.

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