Rafael Nadal’s blockbuster success story opened another chapter on Monday when the Spanish teenager set a new record of 54 successive clay-court victories.
Defending champion Nadal, the second seed, brushed past Sweden’s Robin Soderling 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 to get his French Open title defence off to a flying start.
His victory also meant he passed Guillermo Vilas’s record of 53 clay-court victories in a row, set back in 1977.
”It’s a very special moment for me,” said the Spanish teenager.
Nadal, who will now take on either Kevin Kim of the United States or Brazil’s Julio Silva for a place in the third round, has not been beaten on the surface since losing to Russia’s Igor Andreev in Valencia in April 2005.
”When he won the Rome Masters to go level with me, I always knew he would break the record,” said Vilas.
”There was no way he was going to lose in the first round here.”
Meanwhile, former champions Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero, two of a host of men praying that world number one Roger Federer and Nadal lose their way at Roland Garros, also reached the second round.
Argentinian 10th seed Gaudio, the 2004 champion, breezed past Croatian qualifier Roko Karanusic 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second round date with Evgeny Korolev of Russia.
Ferrero, the 2003 winner, saw off Argentinian qualifier Juan Martin del Potro, at 17 the youngest man in the draw, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The Spanish 24th seed now meets Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Gaudio was the shock winner here two years ago when he came back from two sets down and saved two match points in the final to see off compatriot Guillermo Coria.
But the 27-year-old has endured a poor run-in to the French Open, losing in the first round at the Rome Masters, the second in Hamburg and then losing two more matches at the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf last week.
”I thought it would be a miracle to win here,” said Gaudio.
World number one and top seed Federer, bidding to become the first man in 37 years to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time, discovered the identity of his second round opponent as Colombia’s Alejandro Falla beat America’s Justin Gimelstob 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia had no problems dismissing American Vincent Spadea 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
The women’s tournament lost its first seeded player when Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, the 18th seed and a semifinalist last year, slumped to a 6-1, 6-1 defeat against Karolina Sprem of Croatia.
Sprem next meets rising Chinese star Peng Shuai, who disposed of Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-2.
Chinese number one Li Na also advanced but was pushed hard by US veteran Amy Frazier before winning 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1.
Earlier Patty Schnyder, the Swiss seventh seed, saw off Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek 6-1, 6-2 while Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, the ninth seed, defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4.
Second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium, twice a runner-up, opened her campaign with a straight sets win over France’s Virginie Razzano.
US Open champion Clijsters dismissed 68th-ranked Razzano 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) after 1hr 17min on the Philippe Chatrier Court.
Clijsters trailed 2-5 in the second set before taking her fourth victory over Razzano in as many meetings as another former runner-up, 11th seed Venus Williams of the United States, eased past Austria’s Sybille Bammer 6-4, 6-3. — AFP
