RAFAEL NADAL, NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN CRUISE CONTROL AT 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2017

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RAFAEL NADAL, NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN CRUISE CONTROL AT 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS

epa06001782 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning against Robin Haase of the Netherlands during their men?s single 2nd round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2017. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

Nadal, Djokovic in cruise control en route to French Open third round

Reported By Ricky Dimon From Paris

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic remained on a collision course for the French Open semifinals and they did no in identical fashion on Wednesday. Shortly after Djokovic disposed of Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Nadal beat Robin Haase by the exact same scoreline on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The nine-time champion at Roland Garros took care of his served incredibly well against Haase. He put in 70 percent of his first deliveries, won 76 percent of those points, won an incredible 85 percent of the points even when he had to toss in a second serve, and did not face a single break point in the entire match.

“I think I played a good match; I think I played a solid match,” Nadal assessed. “(I was) hitting very well the ball with the forehand. I think my serve worked better than [in the first round]. I was more or less under control during the whole match, so very happy. Winning in straight sets is always great news.

“Robin is a dangerous opponent always. He can serve very well–hit very strong. I think I did a lot of things well this afternoon.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Joao Sousa of Portugal during their men’s single 2nd round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2017. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Djokovic also saw improvement from what he had put on display during his first-round contest. The second-ranked Serb won the first five games of the match and never looked back, advancing in two hours and seven minutes.

“(I was most pleased with) I think the beginning of the match and the way I started,” Djokovic commented. “Great first set; pretty much [did] everything I wanted. Midway (through the) second set until maybe midway (through the) third set, that’s where I allowed him to believe more that he [could] get back into the match, and he started playing better. I felt like maybe I took off the foot from the gas a little bit.

“(Sousa) likes to play on clay. Once he has time, he can be dangerous. So I tried to take away that time from him…. The way I ended the match and last couple of games was positive. The way I started, as well. Generally I felt better than the first round, so that’s exactly what I wanted.”

Next up for the defending champion is Diego Schwartzman, while Nadal will face Nikoloz Basilashvili on Friday.

Among the other winners on Wednesday were Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, Lucas Pouille, and Pablo Carreno Busta. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, on the other hand, lost the continuation of his battle with Renzo Olivo in four sets–and after just one game upon resumption.