By Chris Oddo | Tuesday May 29, 2018
Rafael Nadal encountered more turbulence from Simone Bolelli on Day 3 but finished off his victory in straight sets.
Photo Source: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Rafael Nadal stretched his streak of consecutive sets won at Roland Garros to 29, and most importantly, booked safe passage into the second round with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9) victory over Italy’s Simone Bolelli on Day 3 in Paris.
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In a match that was suspended due to rain on Monday with Bolelli leading 3-0 in set three, Nadal quickly responded and leveled up.
But Bolelli found his footing and went toe-to-toe with Nadal, he had four break points for 5-3 but couldn’t convert and eventually ended up taking the Spaniard to a tiebreaker and earned four set points.
But Nadal was up to the task and delivered his most steady tennis when it mattered most.
"I went through tough moments; it's important for the future," Nadal said after the match."It was a very difficult match. Simone played very aggressively. He had many chances in the third set.”
Nadal improves to 80-2 lifetime at Roland Garros and he has not lost a set in Paris since the quarterfinals in 2015.
In other early action on Day 3, No.3-seeded Marin Cilic defeated James Duckworth of Australia, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(4), while 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov earned his first win at Roland Garros with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 win over Aussie John Millman.
Americans Steve Johnson and John Isner were straight set winners, while No.6-seeded Kevin Anderson, No.16-seeded Kyle Edmund and No.18-seeded Fabio Fognini all came through in straight sets.