Rafael Nadal started his 14th Roland Garros title charge in style by losing only six games in the first match at the event.
There have been some notable question marks around Nadal and his ability to compete after the way the Spaniard looked at the Italian Open. A foot problem is nothing new for Nadal, as it’s been there for much of his career.
However, with age, the problem is clearly worse than ever, and it was evident at the Italian Open, where Nadal struggled to move and generally couldn’t compete the way he wanted.
That wasn’t a very good sign ahead of the French Open, where he was considered the favorite to win if he could play the way he can play. For Nadal, at this point in his career, it’s all about health, and he didn’t look healthy in that match in Rome.
He looked healthy in this first match in Paris, as he bested his opponent without too many problems. Nadal did admit ahead of the event that he would bring his doctor with him to Paris, which might have helped him perform on this level.
When it comes to the match, it was flawless from the Spaniard, and he didn’t play against a bad opponent. He took on Jordan Thompson, who might not be as good on clay as on other surfaces, but the Australian is certainly good enough to play on it. The two met 2 years ago in Paris, but that time it was at a hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
This time, the Australian had no shot, however, as all the sets were very dominant from Nadal. Nadal won the opening set 6-2, and then he followed up by winning the second set with the same scoreline.
Although the 21-time Grand Slam champion broke his opponent's service three times in the second set, he also got broken once, which resulted in another 6-2 win and an early 2-0 lead in the match.
After repeating the same scoreline also in the third set, the 13-time champion was able to win the match 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and four minutes and advance to the next round of the tournament.
It was a sturdy performance from Nadal who had 25 winners and 21 unforced errors in this match. Fans will be relieved about the win, but the foot issue still remains a question mark.