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Djokovic, Nadal March On In Paris

May 31st 2017

Two of the favorites in the men’s draw took a step forward at Roland Garros on Wednesday, with impressive second-round wins. Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Haase 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and Novak Djokovic eliminated Jaoa Sousa by the same score.

It was one-way traffic as Nadal showed his clay court prowess against the veteran Haase, making light work of the Dutchman. Ripping his signature forehand seemingly anywhere on the court, the four-seed racked up 33 winners to just 13 unforced errors.

Rafael Nadal

Constructing point-after-point, Nadal was simply on another level on this day.  “I think I played a good match”, Nadal said. “I think I did a lot of things well this afternoon. I felt I had things pretty much under control, that I could change the direction the ball went in.”

A joking Haase recognized the excellence of his opponent, “At the beginning, I was way better,” he said. “Then the warm-up ended.”

The Spaniard, looking for his 10th Roland Garros title, will face Nikoloz Basilashvili next in the third round.

Meanwhile, 2nd-seeded Djokovic cruised into the third round with a straight-set victory of his own. The Serb is still searching for his top game but has seemingly made strides early in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic

After dropping the first set quickly, Sousa showed some fight early in the second as he gained a service break. But Djokovic recovered and rolled through the remainder of the match.

There was a nervous moment for the world no. 2 as it appeared he may have injured his back. But he dismissed any thought of it being an issue afterward, “Well, it was an awkward twist, but it was nothing, nothing really major,” he said. “It was okay. It was just a little pull. He wrong-footed me and I was in the air trying to catch the ball.”

The defending champion will face Diego Schwartzman next, in the third round.

Other winners in the men's draw included Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fell to Renzo Olivo in a match continued from Tuesday.

Johnson Through in Emotional Win

In a match that featured smashed rackets, a loss of a point for ball abuse and arguments with a chair umpire, Steve Johnson pulled through with a 6-2, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 win over Borna Coric. After the win, Johnson broke down in tears as he continues to cope with the loss of his father.  “I just knew he was looking down on me on that last point and gave me the strength to finish it off,” he said. “Physically, I’m okay. Emotionally, I’m a mess. He always wanted me to be a fighter and a competitor so that’s what I’m going to do, day in and day out. That’s the only thing I can do.”

Coric broke a racket after the loss and slammed a water bottle as he exited. Johnson will face Thiem next.