There are three things that are virtually guaranteed on any given day at Roland Garros: the sun will rise, the sun will set, and Rafael Nadal will win.
But the 10-time champion was in a battle in the opening round on the terre battue Monday. Play was suspended due to rain with Nadal leading lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 0-3, as the Spaniard attempts to extend his best-of-five-set clay-court record to 105-2. The match will be resumed on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday.
Nadal, who already captured his 11th titles at Monte-Carlo and Barcelona this year, seeks his 11th Coupe des Mousquetaires. That would equal Margaret Court’s all-time Grand Slam singles trophy record, which she earned at the Australian Open.
The 31-year-old has shown good form on the red dirt this year, winning 19 of his 20 matches on the surface. Nadal also extended a streak that began at last year’s Roland Garros to 50 consecutive sets won on clay, an Open Era record for most sets captured in a row on a single surface. His only loss came against Dominic Thiem in Rome.
But his opener against the Italian has not been easy. In claiming Roland Garros title No. 10 last year in Paris, Nadal did not drop a set, and was extended to 6-4 in a set just three times. Bolelli, thanks to fearless ball-striking, was even with the top seed at 4-4 in the first set, and led by a break at 3-1 in the second set before Nadal battled back to take a two-set lead.
It appeared the World No. 1 would pull away as the raindrops began to fall and Bolelli's aggressive groundstrokes slowly began to penetrate the court less. Nadal was holding off his opponent's attacking efforts before ripping winners, something that has become second nature at the clay-court Grand Slam over the years. But the Italian grabbed an early break in the third set, and held before the players were sent off the court.
Nadal will not give up on the third set upon resumption, down just a single break. He has dropped just 24 sets on the Roland Garros clay in his career, and holds a 79-2 record at the tournament. He seeks his 14th consecutive first-round win in Paris. The winner will play Argentine Guido Pella or Estoril champion Joao Sousa. Pella leads the Portuguese by two sets in a match that was also suspended.
Another Spaniard, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, was able to finish his match. The No. 31 seed overcame Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6(0), 6-4, 6-1 to set a second-round clash against #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud, who won his second-five setter with a 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Aussie Jordan Thompson.
Ramos-Vinolas showed his talents on clay last year when he advanced to the Monte-Carlo final. But since reaching the Quito final in February, the left-hander has gone just 8-10 on the surface.
Did You Know?
Rafael Nadal has won 63 of his 79 matches at Roland Garros in straight sets. He has dropped a set in just two of his previous 13 first-round matches in Paris. Nadal beat John Isner in five sets in 2011 and ousted Daniel Brands in four sets in 2013.