Rafael Nadal celebrated his 35th birthday in style with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet on Thursday to reach the French Open third round.
Nadal, the 13-time champion in Paris and chasing a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title, won 6-0, 7-5, 6-2 to register his 17th career victory in 17 meetings with France’s 53rd-ranked Gasquet.
Nadal’s record against Gasquet is the joint-most one-sided head-to-head contest in Open era history.
The last time Gasquet won a set against Nadal was way back in 2008 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto with the Spaniard winning 31 sets in a row against the Frenchman.
Most Dominant Tour-Level Head-to-Head Records (Open Era):
| Player | Opponent | Head2Head |
|---|---|---|
| Bjorn Borg | Vitas Gerulaitis | 17-0 |
| Novak Djokovic | Gael Monfils | 17-0 |
| Roger Federer | David Ferrer | 17-0 |
| Roger Federer | Mikhail Youzhny | 17-0 |
| Ivan Lendl | Tim Mayotte | 17-0 |
| Rafael Nadal | Richard Gasquet | 17-0 |
“Well, of course it’s better…