After a hair-raising tiebreaker that had a Court Suzanne Lenglen audience on edge despite the perennial champion holding the lead for its entire duration, top-seeded Rafael Nadal has escaped his second-round French Open 2011 match against unseeded countryman Pablo Andujar, 7-5 6-3 7-6(4). The top five of the men’s draw remains unblemished, for now.
Rafael Nadal Fends Off Challenging Third Set In French Open 2011 Victory
Nadal had a tough draw to begin with, but the last thing anyone expected was for him to struggle against his first two opponents, both assumed to be pushovers. Not so: John Isner took the five-time Roland Garros champ to five sets in Round 1, and though a straight-set win is a straight-set win, Andujar battled valiantly to the bitter end. Nadal doesn’t quite look like himself on what should be his native soil, and the climb only gets steeper from here. His next opponent: the also-unranked Antonio Veic of Croatia, who’s just upset No. 28 Nikolay Davydenko. This ought to make an easier time of things for Rafa, but this season, you apparently never know.
Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 5 of the 2011 French Open. Get live scores at Roland Garros’ official website, and watch matches online for free at the Tennis Channel’s live stream and on ESPN3.
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