Rafael Nadal: French Open first-round victory for Spaniard

Nadal, 28, won 6-3 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 50 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

RAFAEL Nadal began his quest for a 10th French Open title with a straight-sets victory over teenager Quentin Halys.

Frenchman Halys, an 18-year-old wildcard, had the crowd on his side but was not consistent enough to trouble the champion.

Nadal, 28, won 6-3 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 50 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Spaniard is in the same half of the draw as top seed Novak Djokovic, who plays Jarkko Nieminen later on Tuesday.

Nadal has slipped down the rankings because of a combination of lack of fitness and form, and the sixth seed could meet Djokovic as early as the quarter-finals.

He took the first step in that direction, and improved his record at Roland Garros to 67 wins and one defeat, with a solid opening effort.

There were a few worried glances to coach Toni Nadal in the stand when one service game went against him in a scratchy first set, but the nine-time champion made just one error in the second as he tightened things up.

Halys, the US Open boys’ runner-up in 2014, showed enough flashes of talent to engage his home crowd with his forehand, drop shot and willingness to attack the net.

Nadal was restricted to a single break of serve in the second and third sets but it was all he needed to earn a second-round meeting with Nicolas Almagro or Alexandr Dolgopolov. –bbc.co.uk