Rafael Nadal Beats Richard Gasquet to Advance to 3rd Round of 2021 French Open

Rafael Nadal's French Open win streak has reached 32 matches.

The clay-court GOAT faced little resistance in his second-round match against Richard Gasquet, breezing to a 6-0, 7-5, 6-2 victory at Roland Garros. 

Nadal continued to struggle with placement of his serve—he's double-faulted eight times through two matches—but has managed to win back-to-back matches in straight sets thanks to strong efforts returning.

Gasquet faced 16 break points as Nadal's swift movement and crisp returns flummoxed him, with the Spaniard converting seven of those opportunities. The veteran Frenchman won just 31 percent of his second-serve chances while double-faulting four times himself. 

Nadal has won 31 consecutive sets against Gasquet, with the streak dating back to 2008. Overall, he's won all 17 of their head-to-head matchups. The last time Gasquet defeated Nadal was when they were both 12 years old on the junior circuit. 

Nadal is seeking his 14th French Open championship and 21st Grand Slam, the latter of which would break his tie with Roger Federer for the most in men's tennis history. 

After a pair of surprising losses to Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev early in the clay-court season, Nadal found his form at last month's Italian Open. He avenged his loss to Zverev in the quarterfinals before overcoming Novak Djokovic in a three-set thriller in the finals.

Djokovic has been determined to earn his second French Open championship, having come up frustratingly short each year since his 2016 triumph. Nadal dominated Djokovic in a three-set romp that ranked as perhaps the most thoroughly dominated we've seen Nole since his ascent to the top of the ATP rankings.

Nadal and Djokovic would meet in the semifinals if both continue to through the tournament. Rafa's next opponent is 25-year-old Cameron Norrie, who is making his first appearance in Round 3 at Roland Garros.

Norrie has lost to Nadal twice by straight sets in the 2021 calendar year, including in the third round of the Australian Open. Nadal also defeated Norrie 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of April's Barcelona Open.

If Norrie were to pull off the upset, it would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of tennis. Nadal has an astounding 102-2 record at Roland Garros.

Norrie, meanwhile, has three losses in six matches at the clay-court major.