Defending champion Rafael Nadal was set to play 18 year-old Frenchman Quentin Halys in his first round match of Roland Garros. Nadal is attempting to win the French Open for the 10th time despite his recent struggles to regain his form after a difficult end to 2014. However, today he appeared to be on his way back to his best, winning his match in 1 hour and 50 minutes against an eager opponent. Throughout the match Rafa was consistently serving well, taking his opportunities on break points and hitting with outstanding accuracy- he hit only 13 unforced errors as opposed to Haly's 52. Rafa's game at the net was very strong, winning 14 out of 16 of net points. It's widely agreed that one of the most impressive parts of Nadal's game is his forehand, and today that was certainly no exception. His precision was superb, allowing him to hit balls right around his opponent or deeply down the line.
Rafa started off the first set immediately breaking Haly's serve and then consolidating well with some strong serves and powerful forehands. It took Halys some time to settle into the match, but by the fourth game he was a lot more confident and started to attempt to pull off some risky shots. He constructed points well but often couldn't finish them off as Rafa pushed him back and forced his groundstrokes to land too long or into the net. After Rafa held for 3-1, Halys had a nightmare game starting with an unforced error and finishing with three consecutive double faults. However, Halys had clearly not lost confidence and took advantage of Rafa's unforced errors to break him and get back one of the breaks of serves.
Rafa's forehands got even better as the match went on and Halys just didn't know what to do with them. Extravagant passing shots and down the line forehands gave Halys no option but to admire the winners smashing down from the other end of the court. Despite being outplayed in the first set, Halys tried his best to keep his level up, but Rafa's forehand had a lot of pace and just enough topspin to trouble him despite the cold and heavy conditions.
Perhaps the biggest issue with Halys is that he doesn't get underneath the ball to drive it, lacking in weight transfer especially on the backhand. Errors crept into his game, taking away any potential success with his groundstrokes. Rafa's forehand pushed Halys back, forcing him to make errors.
The third set was a lot quicker. Nadal gained confidence as the match progressed and Halys got lazier with his shot selection. Towards the end of the match Rafa introduced some more wonderfully angled forehands and very strong serves.
The eagerness of Halys was impressive and he's sure to be one to watch in the future. Considering it was his first tour level match, he handled the occasion very well. Nadal will be delighted with his performance today. Every aspect of his game was very impressive. His movement was exceptional, his forehands were precise and his net game was delicate yet reliable. Rafa will play his second round match against Nicolas Almagro on Thursday.