Rafael Nadal was very dominant in his second-round match at the French Open, and the quality of his performance did not go unnoticed by the two-time runner-up at Roland-Garros, Alex Corretja.
Some have wondered whether Nadal is capable of having a deep run in Paris this year since he turns 36 next month. These fears have been heightened by some injury concerns that the Spaniard has had heading into the event.
However, Nadal's domination of home favorite Corentin Moutet sent a message to the other players in the draw. The 13-time French Open champion never gave his opponent a realistic chance, and his game flowed impressively throughout.
Although Corretja felt Nadal had one dip at the start of the third set, he was very positive about how his legendary compatriot performed overall.
"It was a perfect match for Rafa. He played great, felt the ball very good, was moving well and was aggressive. Only one game I think he played not so good, at the beginning of the third set, but from then on he recovered and he was dictating."
The Eurosport analyst then got more specific in his remarks. Despite watching dozens of Nadal's matches over the years, Corretja was left very surprised by how powerfully the 21-time Grand Slam champion was striking the ball.
"I was amazed by how hard Rafa was hitting the ball. In my opinion, he was hitting the ball harder in the first two rounds than ever before at Roland-Garros. We will have the statistics but he was hitting the ball super-hard."
Nadal will hope to keep his level high throughout the tournament. In fact, he may need to get even better to defeat Novak Djokovic, if the pair do end up meeting in the quarterfinals. For now, Nadal will be focused on preparing for the next round against Botic van de Zandschulp.