Tennis: Nadal powers on at French Open
Posted: 28 May 2009 0335 hrs

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PARIS : Title-holder Rafael Nadal blasted his way into the last 32 at the French Open on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia.

It was the Spaniard's 30th straight win at Roland Garros since making his debut in 2005 and it bettered Chris Evert's record of 29 successive wins at the home of claycourt tennis.

Evert set her sequence between 1974 and 1981, although she didn't play from 1976-1978.

In the first round Nadal surpassed Bjorn Borg for the longest unbeaten run for a man and a tournament win here on June 7 would make him the first to win five titles in a row in Paris.

Nadal though said that breaking records was not his priority.

"I came here to get a result without thinking about these records," he said.

"The important thing is to play my best tennis and be there on the final Sunday."

"I played better today that the first day - won in three sets so that's good and I am happy to be in the third round."

Playing out on the Suzanne Lenglen showcourt, Nadal, resplendent again in a fluo-pink shirt topped with a yellow bandana, grabbed an early break to take control of the first set from his 72nd-ranked opponent.

Using a sledgehammer of a forehand, the Russian stuck grimly to the task in the second set until 4-4 when he finally cracked dropping serve to love as Nadal turned up the pressure.

That appeared to tear the heart out of the underdog and Nadal galloped away to a two sets to love lead.

The rest was a mere formality as the world No.1 ran out a comfortable winner in 2 hours 17 minutes chalking up his ninth straight sets win in a row at Roland Garros

He will next go up against former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, a player he has beaten twice already at Roland Garros in 2006 and 2007. The Australian was a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 winner over Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan.

The players have split the eight matches they have played each winning four times although Hewitt's last win over the Spaniard was on the grass of Queens in 2006 when Nadal retired with an injury at the end of the second set.

They last met in the Beijing Olympics in August with Nadal winning 6-1, 6-2 en route to the gold medal.

"It's always very tough to play against Lleyton," said Nadal who will turn 23 next Wednesday. "I will have to play well to have chances to win."

- AFP /ls