The two highest-seeded men at the French Open had tougher-than-expected first sets Thursday, and both responded by reeling off game after game to move into the third round.
Although Federer wasn’t broken, he lost the first set in a tiebreaker before beating Albert Montanes of Spain 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. Nadal faced a close call in the first set, but the three-time defending champion still beat Nicolas Devilder of France 6-4, 6-0, 6-1.
“It was tough going down a set, but reaction was good and bounced back strong,” Federer said. “Played really well after that.”
Seventh-seeded James Blake lost to 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and sixth-seeded David Nalbandian was upset by Jeremy Chardy of France 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
“I wasn’t going for the shots the way I normally do,” Blake said.
In a pair of routs, No. 5 David Ferrer beat Fabrice Sabtoro of France 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka defeated Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea 6-0, 6-0.
Nadal improved to 23-0 at the French Open. The second-seeded Spaniard was leading 5-0 in the second set when rain returned to Roland Garros for the fourth time in five days. When they came back on court, Nadal broke Devilder to take a two-set lead and then jumped to another 5-0 lead in the third.
“The second and third sets were very good,” Nadal said. “What’s really important is that I’m in the third (round) and improving with each match.”
Devilder, who broke once in the first set, held his serve in the sixth game of the third set, running the Spaniard all over the court and tapping a volley into an empty space. As the crowd cheered, the Frenchman raised his hands to celebrate.
But six points later, Nadal was into the third round.
Nadal has won the last three French Open titles, defeating Federer in the final the last two years. He is trying to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win the clay-court Grand Slam tournament four years in a row.
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