Nine-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal fired a warning to his rivals on Friday when he stepped up his bid for ‘La Decima’ with a flawless performance in his 100th best-of-five-sets clay-court match (98-2). The Spanish superstar overwhelmed Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 for a place in the fourth round. "I think I played great," said Nadal. "I think at the beginning of the match, I thought my opponent was not playing bad, but I was able to produce winners, to play with no mistakes, to play very long. I hit with a very high intensity on all the shots. It was a great match for me. I won, with that score, against a player who had already beaten...
Nine-time former champion Rafael Nadal discusses beating Robin Haase on Wednesday and the challenges ahead at Roland Garros. Video courtesy Roland Garros.
Watch highlights of nine-time former champion Rafael Nadal versus Robin Haase on Wednesday at Roland Garros. Video courtesy Roland Garros. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP World Tour
Rafael Nadal’s quest for a 10th Roland Garros crown continued on Wednesday with a convincing 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase in the second round. The Spaniard, seeded fourth in Paris, improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Haase to 3-0 and boosts his record at Roland Garros to 74-2. He has done well to conserve energy in the early rounds, spending just three hours and 41 minutes on court in his first two matches. “Robin is always a dangerous opponent. I was more in less control during the whole match, so winning in straight sets is always great news,” said Nadal. “I think I played a solid match and hit my forehand very well. My serve worked better than...
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been named among the world’s Top 10 most famous athletes in new analysis by ESPN. Federer is fourth on ESPN’s World Fame 100 list, Nadal is ninth and Novak Djokovic is close behind at 12th. Federer and Nadal both move up one place from their positions in last year’s inaugural list. Djokovic rises four places from 16th in 2016. Kei Nishikori surges to 20th from 47th last year. Andy Murray slips one spot to 32nd and Stan Wawrinka, at No. 42, is the other ATP World Tour star to make the Top 100 list. Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo heads the World Fame 100 list, followed by Cleveland Cavaliers basketballer LeBron James in second...