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Rafael Nadal takes another step towards 10th French Open title

Rafael Nadal stormed into the third round and marched on towards his 10th French Open title.

Jon Wertheim

Rafael Nadal takes another step towards 10th French Open title
Rafael Nadal takes another step towards 10th French Open title /

All hail the king. Inasmuch as Rafael Nadal’s 2017 French Open is shaping up as a seven-episode arc, Wednesday's show featured little drama or suspense.

Playing typically peerless clay tennis, Nadal practically pushed his pitiable opponent, Robin Haase, into a different arrondissement with his heavy strokes. He served well, never facing a break point. (“On this surface, he could hold serve serving underhanded,” says Jim Courier.)

He slugged away accuracy. He came to the net. He won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in a match that was not as close as an already lopsided score would indicate. Next up: Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.

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Jon Wertheim
JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.

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