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View From The Baseline: French Open third round recap from Roland Garros

Mohab Ghobranios

The third round of the French Open has drawn to a close.

Here are the highlights and the lowlights of a set of cracking matches.

Player Of The Round

Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili during their third round match of the French Open
Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili during their third round match of the French Open

Rafael Nadal (Who else?)…The Spaniard stormed into the fourth round after producing a dominant performance against Nikoloz Basilashvili, dropping only 1 game in the match 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 in 90 minutes.

This was most one-sided scoreline the Spaniard has recorded at Roland Garros. Nadal’s previous best was a 6-2 6-0 6-0 victory over Juan Monaco in the fourth round in 2012.

After what he showed in his first three matches at the French Open, it looks very unlikely that any player can stop Nadal from lifting the trophy for the 10th time at Court Philippe Chatrier next Sunday.

Shock Of The Round

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov wipes his face in his third round match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta at the French Open
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov wipes his face in his third-round match against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta at the French Open

Grigor Dimitrov losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets 7-5 6-3 6-4. The 11th seed couldn’t handle the Spaniard’s deep and pummelling groundstrokes That seemed to melt the steel in his game and threw away a 4-0 lead in the first set to lose the match in straight sets and exit the tournament earlier than expected.

Match of The Round

France's Kristina Mladenovic clenches her fist after scoring a point against Shelby Rogers of the U.S. during their third round match of the French Open
France’s Kristina Mladenovic clenches her fist after scoring a point against Shelby Rogers of the U.S. during their third round match of the French Open

No. 13 seed Kristina Mladenovic was pushed to the brink by Shelby Rogers, but pulled off another improbable comeback to defeat the American, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6, and reach the second week of her home Grand Slam for the first time.

Mladenovic found herself trailing 2-5 in the final set on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, and Rogers served for the match at 5-3. Nonetheless, from 2-5 down, the No.13 seed reeled off 12 of the next 13 points to level the match at 5-5 and earned the decisive break of serve as the set reached its finale. A remarkable fightback.

Heartbreak Of The Round

No.10 seed David Goffin was forced out of the French Open after sustaining a nasty ankle injury during his third-round match against Horacio Zeballos.

Shot Of The Round

Gael Monfils’ slam dunk against Richard Gasquet!

Fact Of The Round

The last triple bagel at Roland Garros came in 1993 when Sergi Bruguera beat Thierry Champion 6-0 6-0 6-0 in the second round. The scoreline has occurred only five times at grand slams in the Open era, with three of them coming in Paris.

Quote Of The Round

Serbia's Novak Djokovic watches Andre Agassi, left, of the U.S, during a training session for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic watches Andre Agassi, left, of the U.S, during a training session for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium

“I do it on my own time, I do it on my own dime. My own money. I don’t want anything. Just want to help him (Djokovic).” – Andre Agassi said on teaming up with Novak Djokovic.