French Open | Rafael Nadal sails through with 300th Slam win
The Hindu
King of Clay Rafael Nadal chalked up his 300th win in a Grand Slam tournament by beating Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the French Open
Rafael Nadal produced an imperious show on Wednesday to secure his 300th Grand Slam match victory, dismantling local hope Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-1 6-4 to book his spot in the French Open third round.
Nadal counts 13 Roland Garros titles among his overall 21 majors—the highest among men—and despite his injury-blighted buildup to the clay-court tournament he has looked his usual best in the first two rounds.
The Spaniard, whose preparations were hampered by a rib injury and a foot problem, was not keen to talk about his physical condition.
"I can't try to go very deep in a tournament if I'm worried about my physical issues every single day," he told reporters.
"So if something happens, I am gonna accept it. But for the moment I am focused on the tennis."
The Spaniard, who turns 36 next week, will next meet Dutch 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp with a potential quarter-final looming against world number one Novak Djokovic who defeated him in last year's semi-finals.
Playing under the lights at Court Philippe Chatrier, Nadal peppered the red clay with winners from both his forehand and backhand in the first two sets to leave Moutet stranded.