By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, June 2, 2017
As the most expansive Grand Slam stage, Philippe Chatrier court provides plenty of running room and no place to hide.
A ruthless Rafael Nadal snuffed out any safe space for Nikoloz Basilashvili today.
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Playing with the confidence of a man sprinting downhill, Nadal obliterated Basilashvili, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, roaring into Roland Garros fourth round for the 12th time.
It was the most lopsided best-of-five-set victory of Nadal’s career and sent a statement of declarative intent from the Spaniard, who has won all nine sets he’s played raising his Roland Garros record to 75-2.
The 63rd-ranked Basilashvili hit 80 winners total in victories over Gilles Simon and Viktor Troicki, but managed just five winners against an oppressive opponent.
Unleashing vicious topspin drives, Nadal stormed through 11 consecutive games in a punishing performance that left an overwhelmed Basilashvili waving his arms at one point in a gesture of helplessness in halting the onslaught.
It took the fourth seed just 14 minutes to build a 4-0 lead as Nadal powered through 16 of the first 20 points.
Backed up by a deep Nadal return, Basilashvili flattened his reply into net to face set point.
Nadal vaporized a forehand winner streaking through an imperious 24-minute opener at love.
The 10-time Monte-Carlo champion won 24 of 32 points in the set, including 10 of 13 points played on Basilashvili’s serve.
Continuing to command the court, Nadal powered to a 6-0, 2-0 lead permitting just eight points through those eight games.
Through a set-and-a-half the biggest upset came courtesy of chair umpire Pascal Maria who hit Nadal with a time violation warning in a mis-match so severe a standing eight-count for the battered Basilashvili may have been more appropriate.
A fierce inside out forehand gave Basilashvili his first winner 38 minutes into the match eliciting a round of sympathetic applause from the crowd.
Nadal wasn’t exactly empathetic: He hammered out a 14 to 1 edge in winners sweeping through nine games.
Desperate to avoid a demeaning double bagel, Basilashvili finally held in the 12th game to salvage a bit of pride before Nadal served out the second set.
A lightning strike was visible off in the distance in the final game as Nadal ended a force of nature performance breaking serve eight times ina 90-minute annihilation.
Continuing his quest for an unprecedented 10th Roland Garros title, Nadal will play compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut for a quarterfinal spot.
The 17th-seeded Bautista Agut swept Jiri Vesely, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the fourth round for the second year in a row.