Second seed Rafael Nadal and third seed Roger Federer advanced to the third round of the French Open on Wednesday following straight sets wins over the Germans Yannick Maden and Oscar Otte respectively.
Nadal, who is seeking a 12th title at the French Open, disposed of Maden 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Federer dispatched Otte 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal admitted his intensity dropped towards the end of the third set. “There are always things to improve. That's part of the day of work,” said the Spaniard. “For the moment I have been good enough to be in the third round. I’ve had two good matches and won them in threes sets.”
David Goffin separates Nadal from a place in the last 16 after the former world number seven swept past Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets.
“I have a very tough opponent who plays very well against top players, too,” said Nadal. “He's a top player. He had some injuries recently but it will be the moment for me to make a step forward. The good thing is I have good feelings and I hope to be ready to play at the level that I need.”
While Nadal and Goffin have met on four occasions, Federer, in the third round, will face the 20-year-old Norwegian Caspar Ruud for the first time.
“I don't know who he looks up to,” said Federer. “For me it was special playing Pete Sampras at Wimbledon when I was 20. You have to take it all in and enjoy the moment. But you have to believe that you have a chance."
Federer added: “If you get to a third round of a slam, it's not by luck. It means you’ve played some good matches. I will take him very seriously.”
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, the 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka advanced to the third round along with the sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and seventh seed Kei Nishikori.
Grigor Dimitrov battled past 11th seed Marin Cilic. The Bulgarian won in five sets after four hours and 23 minutes on Court Simonne Mathieu.
