French Open Roundup | Nadal demolishes Basilashvili, Djokovic registers hard- fought win
Rafael Nadal thrashed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0 6-1 6-0 in his easiest win at Roland Garros in terms of scoreline till date. On the other hand, defending champion Novak Djokovic was taken all the way by Diego Schwartzman, before coming through 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1, against the Argentine.
Rafael Nadal inflicted a merciless defeat on Nikoloz Basialashvili on Court Phillipe Chatrier trouncing him 6-0 6-1 6-0. This was also the Spaniard's most one-sided scoreline in the Roland Garros. Basilashvili, is ranked a commendable 44th in the world and has already beaten Dominic Thiem this season, but was able to hit just five winners all match, while making 34 unforced errors.Â
 “I was expecting, obviously, a very, very difficult match, but not something like this. The score is quite embarrassing, you know, but I have to accept it,” said Basialashvilli, as reported by Independent.Â
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived his first test at the French Open to overcome world number 41 Diego Schwartzman 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1 in the third round and move into the last 16. The second seed, now joint third on the all-time list for most wins at Roland Garros with 58, was 3-1 up against the Argentine in the first set. But, the victory did not come easy for him as he was broken twice by Schwartzman, who is in great form on clay this season. However, Djokovic kept his cool, despite a time violation and a warning to win the final set with ease.
Since Guillermo GarcĂa-LĂłpez was forced to retire from his respective match against World no. 6 Milos Raonic due to a thigh muscle injury, at the start of the second set, Raonic reached the last 16 for the second year in a row. Fifth seed Raonic cruised through the first set winning it 6-1 in just 21 minutes and led 1-0 in the second when the Spaniard retired at the changeover after a brief exchange with the Canadian.
David Goffin was also forced to retire from his match against Horacio Zeballos due to an injury while Lucas Pouille also looked to sustain a nasty ankle twist during his five-set loss to Albert Ramos Viñolas.
In the women's section, thirteenth-seed Kristina Mladenovic, who is in tremendous form, having reached the final in the Madrid and Stuttgart tournaments before arriving in Paris, was made to work for her win against American Shelby Rogers 7-5 4-6 8-6. Finally, Venus Williams stayed in contention for a shot at a maiden French Open crown with a 6-3 6-1 third-round demolition of Elise Mertens as she picked apart the 60th-ranked Belgian in just over an hour.
Did you know Nadal is the only male player in tennis history to win one Grand Slam and Masters 1000 title for ten consecutive years from 2005–2014
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