Rafael Nadal plays a forehand against Corentin Moutet during the Men's Singles of the French Open 2022 at Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal secured his 300th Grand Slam victory in style by hammering Corentin Moutet in straight sets 6-3,6-1,6-4 and advance into the third round of the French Open.
The spainiard was at his imperious best despite batling injury to go past the local 23-year old and is looking in great shape to win his 14th title at the Roland Garros. Nadal currently has 13 French Open titles - the highest among men- from his overall 21 titles.
Despite his preparations for the French Open were hampered by a rib and foot issue, Nadal said that he is not too keen to talk about his injuries.
"I can't try to go very deep in a tournament if I'm worried about my physical issues every single day," he said.
"So if something happens, I am gonna accept it. But for the moment I am focused on the tennis," he added.
Nadal will play 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round and might set a date with World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
At the Court Philippe Chatrier, Nadal dominated from the very start and thundered winners to leave Moutet gasping.
"Preparation hasn't been perfect so I didn't expect a perfect start to the tournament," Nadal said.
"But it has been going quite well. I am positive about the things that I did out there tonight. Of course, there is room to improve and I need to improve if I want to keep having chances to go deeper," he added.
Meanwhile, defending champion Djokovic eased into the French Open third round by defeating Slovakia's Alex Molcan 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
