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Nadal downs Bagnis to notch up double century
Rafael Nadal chalked up a double century of Grand Slam match wins by putting Argentine challenger Facundo Bagnis firmly in his place with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 demolition job in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.
Playing in only his sixth Grand Slam match, Bagnis broke Nadal's serve in the opening game before taking a 2-0 lead.
But if the 99th-ranked Bagnis harboured any hopes of ending the fourth seed's bid for a record-extending 10th Roland Garros title, those dreams were brutally crushed as Nadal surrendered only four further games before wrapping up victory.
Nadal is one of only eight players in the history of men's tennis to reach the 200 Grand Slam win milestone.
Beaten in the quarter-finals last year by Novak Djokovic, Nadal has dropped just nine games in two rounds as he attempts to reclaim his title.
"That's only another number, and that's it," Nadal, who would become the only man to win the same Grand Slam 10 times in the professional era if he triumphs this year, told reporters.
"The only thing I know is that I have reached round three and I know I have to play at a very high level in order to go deep. That's my sole objective, my only reality."
It was his first appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier, where nine times he has sunk his teeth into La Coupe des Mousquetaires, since being taken apart by Novak Djokovic in last year's quarter-finals.
Djokovic, Tsonga reach third round
Novak Djokovic wasted a few opportunities but safely reached the third round of the French Open with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory against Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis.
The World No 1 dropped serve twice when he seemed to be strolling towards a straightforward victory, his 50th at Roland Garros.
"It was a bit difficult but I'm happy I won in three sets," said Djokovic.
Darcis, the world number 161, fought back from a break down in the first and third sets as Djokovic seemed to lose focus.
The Serb raced to a 3-0 lead on Court Suzanne Lenglen only for Darcis to break back and level for 3-3 before he wasted a break point in the ninth game. Djokovic went on to take the set as the Belgian's backhand sailed long.
An early break put the top seed ahead in the second set, which he won comfortably. However, Djokovic, who hopes to win the only grand slam missing from his collection, let Darcis fight back from 2-0 down in the third.
But the Australian Open champion, a runner-up at Roland Garros last year, accelerated again and wrapped it up on his first match point.
Crowd favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to keep home challenge alive.
Serena bulldozes past Pereira
Defending champion Serena Williams barely broke sweat as she brushed aside Brazilian Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the French Open.
The American, who has lost five games in two matches, will next take on local favourite Kristina Mladenovic, the 26th seed, or Hungary's Timea Babos.
Williams started confidently, winning the first four games, only for her 81st-ranked opponent to pull one break of serve back.
But the American was in a league of her own and claimed eight of the last nine games, ending a one-sided contest on her second match point.
Bacsinszky stops Bouchard to reach third round
Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky recovered from a shaky start and survived a nervy finish to beat Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4 in the French Open second round.
Bacsinszky, who reached the semi-final at Roland Garros last year, fell 4-1 down in the opening set as 2014 runner-up Bouchard came out firing, then bagged 10 games in a row as her 47th-ranked opponent melted down on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Bouchard, who also reached the 2014 Wimbledon final and climbed as high as fifth in the world before slumping, clawed back from 0-5 down in the second set but a releived Bacsinszky finally sealed victory.
While it was disappointing defeat for Bouchard, who suffered a head injury when slipping over in the locker rooms at the 2015 US Open and has struggled for form since, there were glimpses of the form that took her to consecutive major finals.
She even had two points to level at 5-5 in the second set but could not convert either and the match ended when she sent a service return over the baseline.
Bacsinszky will face either American Irina Falconi or Pauline Parmentier of France in the third round.
Dangerman Thiem moves closer to Nadal showdown
French Open dangerman Dominic Thiem enhanced his growing reputation by reaching the third round for the first time with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The youngest player in the top 15, the 22-year-old Austrian has won more matches on clay this season than anyone else, and his 2016 victims on the surface include nine-time Roland Garros champion Nadal and 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer.
Thiem could also be a potential banana skin for Nadal in Paris since the duo appear to be heading for a fourth-round showdown.
Before that happens he will have to overcome either Germany's Alexander Zverev or Stephane Robert of France.
But Thiem, who has won claycourt titles this season in Buenos Aires and Nice, can already take some comfort in becoming the first Austrian man to reach the third round since Juergen Melzer in 2010.
