PARIS(AP) The latest player to absorb a lopsided loss against Rafael Nadal on clay offered a novel idea for how to thwart the four-time French Open champion.
Asked how many men are capable of beating Nadal the way he's playing at the moment, Argentina's Horacio Zeballos replied: Maybe two or three.'' Then, after pausing for effect, Zeballos added:But at the same time; playing together. If they play together, maybe they can win.''
Rim shot!
Nadal produced a second consecutive easy victory at Roland Garros, beating the 44th-ranked Zeballos 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 Friday in a match delayed by a day because of rain. The Spaniard has lost 13 games on his way into the third round, where he will face another former No. 1, two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt.
``I know him well,'' Nadal said.
They've met nine times in all, and Nadal not only leads 5-4, but he's won their past four matches and eliminated Hewitt at the French Open in 2006, 2007 and 2009.
``I would be surprised if he did anything different. He cleaned me up, last few times,'' said the 28th-seeded Hewitt, who advanced Friday with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
Thinking ahead to taking on Nadal, Hewitt added: ``He's obviously very dominant, especially on this surface. I'm going to have to go out there and execute what I want to do - and do it bloody well.''
Nadal is attempting to become the second man to win five French Open titles; Bjorn Borg holds the record of six.
After dropping six games against an 18-year-old French wild-card entry in the first round, Nadal complained that he had played badly.
And Friday?
I improved a little bit. I played a little bit better. But sure, not perfect, no?'' the No. 2-seeded Nadal said.That's always important - to play a little bit better every day, no?''
His performance was quite clean against fellow left-hander Zeballos. Nadal made a mere 12 unforced errors and lost serve only once, in the seventh game of the third set. He immediately broke back, then served out the match.
The 1-hour, 44-minute victory kept Nadal unbeaten on clay in tour matches in 2010 - 17-0, including Masters Series titles at Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid. And he's compiling a new winning streak at Roland Garros after his 31-match run ended in a fourth-round loss to eventual finalist Robin Soderling a year ago.
So Nadal's career record at the French Open stands at 33-1.
I don't know if I'm playing my best tennis today,'' Nadal said,but I think I have almost reached this level for several months.''
Now Hewitt will try, once again, to get the better of Nadal.
And, notwithstanding Zeballos' theory about how to beat the man nicknamed the King of Clay, Hewitt will have to deal with Nadal 1-on-1.
That's the reason you play tennis - to get opportunities to play the best players in the world. In the Grand Slams, I feel like I've put myself in a position my whole career that's it's taken the best players most times in a Grand Slam to beat me,'' said Hewitt, who won the U.S. Open in 2001, and Wimbledon in 2002, and twice was a runner-up at major championships.Hopefully I can give him a good match.''