Nadal, Murray and Ferrer reach second round at Roland Garros

Roland Garros—Paris France

Defending champ and six-time winner Rafael Nadal breezed into the second-round of the French Open on Tuesday, defeating hard-hitting Italian Simone Bolelli, 6-2 6-2 6-1.

Needing less than two hours to advance, Nadal began his campaign in strong fashion by striking 20 winners and breaking his opponent’s serve on seven of nine occasions. Improving to 46-1 at Roland Garros and 150-21 at Grand Slams, Nadal has never lost in the first-round of a major.

Vying for his seventh title in eight appearances, Nadal will next face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Last year’s semifinalist Andy Murray was made to work in the second set but overcame a determined Tatsuma Ito to advance, 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. Murray, who entered Roland Garros with a back injury, Murray will next face Jarkko Nieminen.

Elsewhere, clay-court grinders David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro prevailed in straight sets on Day 3 action. Ferrer, who has never made the semifinals in Paris, dispatched Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Ferrer will next face Benoit Paire for a berth in the third-round. World No. 13 Almagro, who is coming off a victory in Nice, defeated Paolo Lorenzi, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

In other first round winners, Janko Tipsarevic, Richard Gasquet, Florian Mayer and Tommy Haas all advanced.

Wednesday’s order of play in Paris will feature Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

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