Rafael Nadal aiming to reclaim his French Open crown after Novak Djokovic's triumph in 2021, cruised to a 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Jordan Thompson in Round 1 at Roland Garros.
'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal began his quest for a record-extending 14th French Open men's title with a commanding straight-set victory over Australia's Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard, aiming to reclaim his crown after Novak Djokovic's triumph in 2021, cruised to a 6-2 6-2 6-2 win.
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"I'm very happy with the victory today. I'm happy to get through in three sets. I played well for a while, and there are things that I could've done better and need to do better. It's a positive start, and that's given me the chance to have one more day of practice tomorrow and then another chance after tomorrow," said Nadal, seeded outside the top four in Paris for just the second time in his career.
The Spanish ace revealed one area of improvement, adding, "I need to improve in every way. I need to improve my movement. At the moment, the speed of my forehand... the average speed, I think could be and should be better."
"I did do things well for a while. It was good. I mean, I am happy with the performance. It's been a positive start. But of course, I am the kind of player that's always looking for something else, looking for better things, and that's what I am going to try to find during my practice tomorrow and in the next match," Nadal stated.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion was troubled by the recurrence of a chronic foot injury at the Italian Open earlier this month but appeared to be moving freely against world number 82 Thompson.
"When he's (Thompson) serving well, things become more difficult. He's fast. He has good legs and can be fast and dangerous. But it's true that here, on such a big court like this one and playing on clay, you have more chances against a player like him who can produce great points and great shots, but at the same time, he makes mistakes too. So, on clay, that's difficult," Nadal concluded.
It was a 106th French Open victory for the 35-year-old fifth seed, who will face Corentin Moutet in the second round after the Frenchman's win over 2015 winner Stan Wawrinka.