Story highlights
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal breezes into the French Open third round
Spain's 2011 champion is looking to win a record seventh title at Roland Garros
Fourth seed Andy Murray battles back to beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen
France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 6 David Ferrer also record victories
Six-time champion Rafael Nadal cruised into the third round of the French Open on Thursday, recording a crushing 6-2 6-2 6-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin.
The second seed, chasing a record seventh Roland Garros title, hit 25 winners on his way to a 47th win at the clay-court grand slam.
The world No. 2 has lost just once in 48 matches at the Paris event, to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 tournament, and he will look to continue his impressive run against Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank.
Nadal was satisfied with his performance, but insisted there were areas of his game where he could still improve.
“I can improve things,” the 25-year-old told the ATP Tour’s official website. “The serve is the first one.
“I think I improved the level of my serve during the match, but I started the match serving badly. For the rest, more or less, I have to be happy.”
While Nadal strolled, fourth seed Andy Murray toiled. The Briton overcame injury and a one-set deficit to eventually defeat Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.
Murray, still searching for a first grand slam title, had to summon his trainer in the first set as he struggled with a back injury.
World No. 48 Nieminen capitalized as he took the opener 6-1, but Murray fought back to clinch a 1-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 win in two hours and 17 minutes.
“I should have taken a double break in the second set to have taken the set,” said a disappointed Nieminen.
“I couldn’t take that, and then I played one very poor changeover, two bad games, and then he started to play better. I really never got the momentum back.”
Murray will play Santiago Giraldo in the third round after the Colombian beat Australia’s 25th seed Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-1 6-3.
Two years after winning the longest match in grand slam history, No.10 John Isner was at it again as he faced France’s Paul Henri-Mathieu in a marathon encounter.
But unlike his clash with Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010, Isner was beaten 6-7 (7-2) 6-4 6-4 3-6 18-16 in a grueling contest which lasted five hours and 41 minutes.
Mathieu’s compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga delighted the home crowd with a 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory over Germany’s Cedric-Marcel Stebe in a match which had began on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, the conditions were not the ones I like very much,” the No. 5 said after setting up a clash with Italian Fabio Fognini. “When the weather is heavy, I find it difficult to play. I can’t volley well.
“So I think it was a good idea the match was stopped yesterday and I could start again in far better conditions for me.”
Spanish No.6 David Ferrer looked comfortable as he beat France’s Benoit Paire 6-3 6-3 6-2. The two-time quarterfinalist will face Russian 27th seed Mikhail Youzhny in round three.
Canadian rising star and 2011 Rookie of the Year Milos Raonic set up a match with 13th seed Juan Monaco by beating American Jesse Levine 6-4 7-5 6-2.
Argentina’s Monaco registered a straight-sets win over Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic.
