Nadal claims milestone win, Djokovic advances in French Open

Paris, May 26 (IANS) Nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal became the eighth player in tennis history to record 200 Grand Slam match wins, beating Facundo Bagnis 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 here on Thursday.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic, like Nadal, also advanced to the third round after winning in straight sets on Thursday.

The Serbian withstood strong and consistent play from veteran Steve Darcis to move ahead with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 win.

Nadal, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on June 3, improved to 200-30 lifetime at the four major championships took one hour and 46 minutes for a place in the third round. He committed 18 unforced errors.

Spaniard Nadal lost the first three points of the match at the Philippe Chatrier Court. But Nadal was able to work his way back with five straight games for a 5-2 lead.

He then won nine straight games against the Argentine, from a 5-3 lead in the first set to a 2-0 advantage in the third set.

Nadal is now also four victories shy of notching 800 career match wins (796-168). He is 72-2 lifetime on the clay courts of the French Open.

He will next play the winner of the second-round match between Nicolas Mahut and or Marcel Granollers.

Also on Thursday, seventh seed Tomas Berdych struck 32 winners, including 11 aces, to knock out Malek Jaziri 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the third round.

--IANS

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