No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal didn’t face a break point until the third set Wednesday as he rolled into the third round of the French Open with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over German qualifier Yannick Maden. The 11-time Roland Garros champion built a decisive 43-15 advantage in winners and improved his record in Paris to 88-2. The Spaniard also improved to 91-5 in his career against qualifiers in tour-level play. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports “I think it was a good match for the first two sets,” Nadal said. “Then in the third, being honest, I think I lost a little bit of concentration and intensity. And then the match became difficult.” The players exchanged five consecutive service breaks in the third set, with Nadal breaking Maden a third straight time at 5-4 and then serving out the match. Up next for Nadal is Belgian David Goffin, a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 winner against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic. Nadal leads their head-to-head series 3-1, including 3-0 on clay courts. Roger Federer also advanced to the third round and moved closer to a quirky milestone with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win against Germany’s Oscar Otte. It was the first time in 1,466 career singles matches that the Swiss legend faced a player whose surname begins with the letter “O.” According to the ATP Tour website, the No. 3 seed can complete an “alphabet Grand Slam” should he ever face a player whose last name begins with “X.” The 37-year-old Federer will face 20-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway, a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 winner against No. 29 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports Sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece eliminated Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 49 minutes. The 20-year-old struck 41 winners and became the third Greek man ever to reach the third round in Paris, the first since Nicky Kalogeropoulos in 1967. No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan rallied to defeat French favorite Joe-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and two minutes. Nishikori recovered from 0-2 in the third set and 0-3 in the fourth, when he silenced the crowd by winning five straight games. Also reaching the third round was 37-year-old Frenchman Nicholas Mahut, currently ranked No. 252 in the world. After rallying from two sets down to win his first-round match, Mahut defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. –Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
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