Rafael Nadal fought back from 2-5 down in the third set to notch his 101st win at Roland Garros Tuesday while seventh seed Andrey Rublev was knocked out in the first round as the in-form Russian lost a five-set thriller to Jan-Lennard Struff.
The 34-year-old Nadal, seeded third, raced through the first two sets before eventually clinching a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win over Alexei Popyrin.
“I was lucky to win that third set, I don’t know how (I did). The beginning of the match had been very tough too,” said Nadal, who had been 2-5 down in the third set, saving two set points.
“In these warm and fast conditions it’s always very difficult. He’s young and the speed of his ball is very strong.”
Up next is fellow 34-year-old Richard Gasquet. The pair first played one another when they were children. As professionals, Nadal leads 16-0.
Questions had been asked about Nadal’s form earlier in the clay-court season when he lost to Andrey Rublev in the Monte Carlo Masters and…