Thursday 29 May 2014 23:53, UK
Defending champion Rafael Nadal cruised into the third round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 victory over Dominic Thiem.
Young Austrian prospect Thiem was considered an interesting underdog after defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in Madrid earlier this month but never came close to causing an upset against Nadal.
Nadal stamped his authority on the contest from the start as he moved into a 3-0 lead and, of the first six games, Thiem won only one.
He gave himself hope by saving a set point and breaking the Nadal serve for the first time, but the world No 1 hit straight back to take the set when Thiem double-faulted.
Nadal again moved ahead early in the second set, Thiem letting out an anguished cry when he missed a backhand at 2-4, and Nadal clinched the set with a brilliant forehand winner on the run.
Thiem has huge potential and he could be one of the ones who's going to replace us. His tennis style is really good.
Thiem's best moments came early in the third when he broke the Nadal serve and moved 3-1 ahead, much to the delight of the crowd, but his error count continued to nudge away from his tally of winners and Nadal won straight games to seal the victory.
"Thiem has huge potential and he could be one of the ones who's going to replace us. His tennis style is really good. What he could work on is his footwork and how he moves on the court," Nadal said of his opponent.
"But apart from that, I think his speed is really good, and also the way he changes directions, he serves well. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.
"The normal thing is Dominic will be there in a short period of time, and he will have his chances to become a top star and fight for these tournaments."
lsewhere in the second round at Roland Garros fourth seed David Ferrer, who lost in the final against Nadal 12 months ago, eased into the third round with a 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory over Simone Bolelli.
Two giants of the game - 6ft 11in Ivo Karlovic and 6ft 8in Kevin Anderson - set up a third-round meeting after both came through in straight sets on Thursday.
Karlovic followed up his upset of Grigor Dimitrov by defeating Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-5 6-3 6-4, while Anderson saw off Axel Michon 6-2 6-3 6-2.
There was also an impressive win for American Donald Young, who had not won a match at Roland Garros before this year but knocked out 26th seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3 7-6 (7-1) 6-3.
French duo Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils also made it through in straight sets, seeing off Carlos Berlocq and Jan-Lennard Struff respectively.
