Rafael Nadal won his 300th Grand Slam match on Wednesday, defeating local hope Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the French Open.

Nadal broke Moutet’s serve four times in the first two sets, but inexcusable errors in the third set gave his opponent a 2-0 lead.

However, Nadal quickly broke back to get the set back on serve, and after another exchange of breaks, the Spaniard broke Moutet again to secure the win on his first match point.

Talking about the match Nadal stated – “Preparation hasn’t been perfect so I didn’t expect a perfect start to the tournament. But it has been going quite well. I am positive about the things that I did out there tonight. Of course, there is room to improve and I need to improve if I want to keep having chances to go deeper.”

Nadal, who turns 36 next week, will play against Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round, with a possible quarter-final against world number one Novak Djokovic, who defeated him in last year’s semi-finals.

Also Read| French Open 2022: Day 2 sees Rune and Medvedev cruise past, Tsonga retires

Alcaraz vs Vinolas

Sixth seed Carlos Alcaraz came back from a shocking second-round loss to beat fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a five-set marathon that put his title expertise to the test.

The 19-year-old, who has taken the tennis world by storm this year, fought back from 3-0 down in the fifth set to win 6-1 6-7(7) 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4 in two and a half hours.

Talking about the match Alcaraz stated – “I am still young but I am an experienced player now, I feel comfortable playing in big stadiums, big matches, and Grand Slams. I am ready to play this kind of match in these situations. I want to play big battles and top battles against the best players in the world, being number one is my dream since I started playing tennis.”

Alcaraz is now unbeaten in 12 matches after winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid before Roland Garros, and he will play against American Sebastian Korda next.

Also Read| Barbora Krejcikova withdraws from French Open after testing positive for COVID

Alcaraz vs Vinolas

Alexander Zverev, a 2021 semi-finalist, battled back from a deep hole against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez to avoid his first major loss in three years.

Zverev defeated Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. At 4-5 in the final set, he was down a match point on serve.

It was Zverev’s third comeback from a two-set deficit in his career. He trailed fellow German Oscar Otte 2-0 in the first round of Roland Garros a year ago before advancing to the quarterfinals.

Talking about the match Zverev stated – “ I’m happy still being in the tournament right now, I was planning my holiday in Monaco, where I was going to go and who I was going to with and that relaxed me, thinking about the beach. You just have to find a way.”

He will play against Brandon Nakashima of the United States in the round of 16.

Also Read| French Open 2022: How Diane Parry stunned defending champ Krejcikova out

Djokovic vs Molcan

Novak Djokovic comfortably defeated Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, winning 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) against a player instructed by his long-time former coach Marian Vajda, who influenced the majority of his 20 Grand Slam titles.

Talking about the match, Djokovic stated – “So far so good. I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling on the court, It was never going to be an easy match, but I thought I performed very well. Everything is going in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the next challenge.”

In the last 32, the top seed will face Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene in his quest for a third Roland Garros title. This is the 17th consecutive year that Djokovic reached the last 32 at Roland Garros.

Also Read| ‘If’ a dangerous word – Why Rafael Nadal refuses to speculate ahead

Sakkari vs Muchova

Maria Sakkari was the fifth top-10 seed to lose, falling 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) to Czech world number 81 Karolina Muchova.

Last year, Sakkari, the fourth seed from Greece, was a point away from reaching the final of Roland Garros.

Her exit meant that the women’s draw lost four of its top six seeds, including defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, Anett Kontaveit, and Ons Jabeur.

Talking about the match, Muchova said – “It’s very special, she’s an amazing player. It was a big fight, a little bit of a test and challenge for me and I’m happy I took it the way I did.”

Muchova’s next opponent will be 27th seed Amanda Anisimova, who reached the final four in Paris three years ago.

Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka, both former Grand Slam champions, also advanced to the third round.

The French Open began on May 16th and will run through till June 5.