Nadal crushes Norrie to reach French Open fourth round

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

PARIS, (Reuters) – A relentless Rafa Nadal cruised into the last 16 of the French Open for the 16th time yesterday, with a brutal 6-3 6-3 6-3 dismantling of Briton Cameron Norrie.

Nadal, who won his 13th title at Roland Garros last year, extended his run at the claycourt Grand Slam to an unbelievable 30 sets won in a row. He last dropped a set against Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final.

Norrie, the world number 45, battled gamely against the third seed, even breaking Nadal twice in the second set, but the ruthless Spaniard reeled him back in on both occasions, before serving out the one-sided contest a shade over two hours.

Nadal sent down 35 winners, including three aces, and broke Norrie’s serve six times in the match as he stormed into round four, where he will battle Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the 18th seed, for a place in the quarter-finals.