Nadal back to his old merciless self on new French Open center court
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal greets the crowd after winning his first round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
PARIS (Reuters) - Claycourt master Rafael Nadal quickly adapted to his new surroundings at Roland Garros with a 6-2 6-1 6-3 demolition of German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the French Open on Monday.
On a revamped Court Philippe Chatrier, the 11-time champion wasted little time in despatching Hanfmann after the German had the audacity to say he could do 'some damage' in the run up to the match. Nadal will next meet another qualifier.
Hanfmann failed to seize potential opportunities as Nadal, who usually starts slowly at his favorite hunting ground, played tight throughout and limited his unforced errors to 11.
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal greets the crowd after winning his first round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
The win improved Nadal's Roland Garros record to 87-2. The Spaniard is hoping to become the first player to win the same Grand Slam title 12 times.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his first round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in action during his first round match against Spain's Rafael Nadal. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his first round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in action during his first round match against Spain's Rafael Nadal. REUTERS/Vincent KesslerTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts during his first round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in action during his first round match against Spain's Rafael Nadal. REUTERS/Vincent KesslerTennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 27, 2019. A general view of the first round match between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Germany's Yannick Hanfmann. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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