Second seed Rafael Nadal has begun his quest for a record 13th French Open title with a clinical first round win over Belarus’ Egor Gerasimov who sustained an injury during the closing stages.
The Spaniard was rarely troubled throughout his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, win on Court Phillippe Chatrier as he recorded his 94th main draw victory at the tournament. Which is over 20 more than any other player in ATP Tour history. Against Gerasimov Nadal blasted three aces and 32 winners en route to securing a place in the second round. Although his win was partly overshadowed by the world No.83 who twisted his ankle during the third set and struggled with his movement.
“I am really happy to be back playing on court Philippe Chatrier,” Nadal said French during his on-court interview.
“It is great to be back on this court and hopefully next year the tournament will be back to normal with this beautiful crowd that I receive support from every year.”
Despite being a vocal critic of the ball change at Roland Garros, the 34-year-old had no difficulty when it came to powerful shot-making as he bullied his rival around the court with the use of angle shots. This year’s tournament has changed their ball brand to Wilson which some say is slower and heavy to hit in the cooler conditions.
It was a case of deja vu for the king of clay during the first two sets with a single break in each of those being enough for him to get a stronghold of the match. Gerasimov, who was making his main draw debut at the age of 27, did demonstrate glimmers of his potential. However, it was not enough to disrupt Nadal who impressively won 40 out of 48 points behind his serve during that period.
Nadal encountered his first blip one-and-a-half hours into the match after a lapse in concentration resulted in him getting broken and falling behind 0-2 in the third frame. However, the setback didn’t last for long as he soon leveled back up before disaster struck his opponent. During a rally Gersimov took a tumble after rolling his ankle and then underwent a medical time out to have it bandaged. When the match resumed the underdog visibly struggled with his movement as Nadal cruised to a one-sided victory.
“I’m going to practice every single day and play matches with the most positive attitude possible,” Nadal pledged.
“It’s true that it is a different Roland Garros that we are used to. The conditions are very challenging but here we are to try our best. For me this year is as special as everyone that I am here.’
“I am going to keep trying my best. I’m happy to be in the second round and it’s a good start.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nadal’s preparation for the clay-court major has been limited in terms of matches played on the clay. This season he has only managed to participate in three which was at the Italian Open where he lost in the quarter-finals to Diego Schwzrtzman. It is the first time he has entered the French Open without winning an ATP title on the surface earlier in the season.
Awaiting Nadal in the second round will be America’s Mackenzie McDonald, who defeated qualifier Steven Diez in straight sets. The upcoming match will be the first meeting between the two. Since his debut in 2005, Nadal has only lost twice at Roland Garros to Novak Djokovic and Robin Solderling.
