Wawrinka had a hard opening match at Roland Garros as he was pushed to five sets by Lukas Rosol but he had no such problems against Daniel, posting a straight-sets win. “For sure it was some up and down, could have been better, but winning three sets, it’s always good, and in general I think it’s been a good day”, said Wawrinka.
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Japan’s Kei Nishikori maintained his impressive clay-court form to outclass Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3 6-3 6-3 in their second round match.
With three of the top seven seeds out of the women’s draw in the first round at the French Open, there was no guarantee Garbine Muguruza would stroll into the third round.
Bertens, who upset Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round, won the Nuremberg tournament last week as a qualifier.
The American 15th seed described securing the crucial second set late on Monday night, before bad light stopped play, as the equivalent of “pulling a rabbit out of a hat completely”.
Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep, the 2014 runner-up, also progressed, taking just 43 minutes to defeat Japan’s Nao Hibino 6-2, 6-0.
“It’s a tournament that I know I can play well”, said Nadal, who lost in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic a year ago.
However, there was time for a notable first.
Stan Wawrinka made short work of Taro Daniel to reach the third round in Paris and extend his winning streak to six matches.
Meanwhile, Croatian Ivo Karlovic became the oldest man to reach the third round of a grand slam for 25 years when the 37-year-old came through a marathon five-setter against Australian Jordan Thompson.
Andy Murray needs to win a second consecutive five-set match to continue his run at the French Open.
(AP Photo/Bertrand Combaldieu). Serena Williams, of the U.S, appears on giant screen before the draw of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Friday, May 20, 2016 in Paris. But the German player said the pain has eased and she can serve normally.
The 17-year-old French player, a wild card, lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang of China on Court 17.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2009 French Open victor Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced in straight sets.
Kerber arrived in Paris on the back of early losses in both Madrid and Rome.
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9-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal is a mountain GOAT on clay; the Spaniard is the most successful player of all time on the surface, and up against the lower-ranked Sam Groth will not be particularly anxious; Groth does not have much to combat Nadal barring a big serve.
