Rafael Nadal produced a masterclass to thrash Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0 6-1 6-0 to advance to the second week of Roland Garros.
Extraordinary. Unbelievable. Beyond Belief. These are some of the words to describe Rafael Nadal as he destroyed his Georgian opponent. His forehand was at its very best and was hitting the lines on every ground stroke as he gave Basilashvili no chance of retaliating. The Georgian didn’t hit his first winner until the second set as it only took the Spaniard 26 minutes to wrap up the first set.
Basilashvili eventually got on the scoreboard midway through the second set as the Philippe Chatrier crowd roared in pure delight. Nadal remained focused and destroyed the Georgian in every department to grab the second set 6-1. The world number 63 only managed 34 points as he looked despondent in the closing stages of the contest. The nine time champion who is looking for ‘La Decima’ managed to beat the thunder and lightning to seal victory and his place in the second week of Roland Garros.
Nadal, who turns 31 tomorrow, was happy with his performance, ‘It’s important to be through. I have positive feelings. I am happy about this match. I played the best match of the week so far.’ He also joked that it wasn’t good being older and that he will be watching his football team, Real Madrid, in the Champions League final tomorrow evening.
Rafael Nadal will now play 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday in the fourth round after he dispatched Jiri Vesely 6-3 6-4 6-3 on Court 3. The Spaniard hit 21 winners as he comfortably took care of business.
Twitter Reacts
Here are some of the reactions from Nadal’s masterclass:
https://twitter.com/ItsDhavalPatel/status/870626235554070528
https://twitter.com/dens_Ethan/status/870627336890220545
@RafaelNadal def. Basilashvili 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 !!
That was quick!!😆😋👏 And brilliant!! #RG17 #RafaelNadal #VamosRafa https://t.co/HhIFfq7gJO
— Vasavi (@WhereVasAt) June 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/WaldoWatkin3/status/870625935053262849
