Rafael Nadal racked up his 80th win at the French Open on Tuesday as the 10-time champion defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9) to reach the second round, but then blasted the showpiece Philippe Chatrier Court for being too slippery.
World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday.
He quickly levelled at 3-3 on Tuesday and saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points.
Nadal eventually claimed the match on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net.
But he was far from happy with the clay on Chatrier, the court where he has only lost twice in his career.
“The court is more slippery than usual and I slid a lot when I started off or when I moved to another side, and it was quite complicated,” said the Spaniard.
“There are no excuses. This is what I felt. If you look at the images on television, you can see that there are many more whiter zones than other years, because there are little pebbles underneath, and that’s why you don’t have the proper grip on the court.”
The top seeded Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina’s Guido Pella for a place in the last 32.
With rivals such as former champion Djokovic and the dangerous Dominic Thiem in the other side of the draw along with second seed Alexander Zverev, Nadal is being widely tipped to cruise to an 11th title in Paris.
But despite having wrapped up his 11th titles on clay in Monte Carlo and Barcelona as well as an eighth in Rome, 31-year-old refuses to get too far ahead of himself.
“If you get complacent or too confident with yourself, for sure you won’t be happy,” said Nadal whose only loss on clay this year came against Thiem in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals.
“I was able to do all these results because I respect the sport, I respect every opponent, and I respect the competition every day.
“That’s the reason I have success, is because I go every day on court knowing that I can win, that I can lose, and that’s the sport. So anything can happen.”
Shapovalov eases to victory on Roland Garros debut
Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov eased to a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Australian John Millman in his first ever main-draw French Open match.
The 19-year-old, who lost in Roland Garros qualifying last year but is now the 24th seed, was erratic at times but always had too much power for his opponent.
He will next take on German world number 70 Maximilian Marterer for a place in the last 32.
“The last couple of weeks I’ve been playing unbelievable on this surface,” said Shapovalov.
“For now, every win here is a bonus, but in the future, winning Roland Garros would be a dream come true for me.”
Shapovalov fell a break down in each of the first two sets, but his fearsome groundstrokes helped him fight back both times to take control of the match after a rain delay.
The world number 25 quickly moved 3-1 ahead in the third set and wrapped up victory with a rapid service hold to love.
It is the first time Shapovalov has been seeded at a Grand Slam tournament, after his run to the Madrid Masters semi-finals earlier this month saw him become the youngest player to break into the world’s top 30 since 2005.
Third seed Cilic into second round
Marin Cilic reached the French Open second round with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) win over Australia’s James Duckworth.
The third seed, the Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up, will face Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the third round.
Cilic, who made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last year, fired 47 winners and 13 aces past the 1,072th-ranked Duckworth who was playing his first match since the 2017 Australian Open.
Since that time, the 26-year-old has been battling a foot injury which required surgery in January 2017.
Fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro came back from a set down to defeat Nicolas Mahut 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Results
1st rd
Denis Shapovalov (CAN x24) bt John Millman (AUS) 7-5, 6-4, 6-2
Maximilian Marterer (GER) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-1, 6-3, 7-5
Kevin Anderson (RSA x6) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Marin Cilic (CRO x3) bt James Duckworth (AUS) 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4)
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG x5) bt. Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
With inputs from AFP
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