Reigning champion Rafael Nadal bludgeoned his way into the French Open third round with a 6-2 6-1 6-1 defeat of outclassed Argentine Guido Pella.
With rain showers forecast at Roland Garros on Thursday, the 31-year-old wasted no time on Court Suzanne Lenglen after saving four break points in the first game against the 78th-ranked Pella.
Once that early danger had been snuffed out Nadal offered up a masterclass against his fellow left-hander and his forehand was too hot for Pella to handle.
The Spanish world No.1 has now won his last 27 sets at Roland Garros, having captured a 10th title last year without dropping a set.
Next in the firing line for Nadal is Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who earlier moved into the third round for the eighth straight year after defeating Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-2 3-6 6-3 6-0.
The 27th-seeded Gasquet was joined by fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille, who advanced past Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-2 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-3) over two days after their match was stopped by darkness on Wednesday night.
At No.16, Pouille is the highest-ranked Frenchman in the main draw, and it’s been 35 years since a player from the host nation lifted the men’s trophy in Paris.
It also means that Kyle Edmund is the last Briton standing in the singles after he recovered from a mid-match blip to beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-0 1-6 6-2 6-3.
Denis Shapovalov’s growing fan club were left disappointed as his French Open debut was cut short by Germany’s Maximilian Marterer in the second round.
The Canadian 19-year-old’s eye-catching groundstrokes have rocketed him up the rankings in the past 12 months and he arrived to contest only his fourth grand slam seeded 24.
Despite taking the first set against fellow left-hander Marterer, three years his senior, he lost an absorbing scrap on the Court 1 bullring 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 6-4.
Third-seeded Marin Cilic overcame a concentration lapse to advance with a 6-2 6-2 6-7 (7-3) 7-5 second-round victory over Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz.
The Croatian, who won the US Open in 2014, was cruising until the third set, when Hurkacz broke him for the only time in the match.
Cilic, a quarterfinalist last year at Roland Garros, will next play 46th-ranked Steve Johnson of the US.
Sixth seed Kevin Anderson, of South Africa, also needed four sets to get past tricky Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Dominic Thiem, the seventh seed from Austria, resumed at 2-1 up against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and eventually won 6-2 2-6 6-4 6-4.
