Rafael Nadal looked in ominous form as he dispatched Robin Haase 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and moved into the third round of the French Open.

The nine-time Roland Garros champion hit 33 winners, just 13 unforced errors and did not face a single break point on his serve.

Haase is a tricky opponent who plays attacking tennis, and the 30-year-old Dutchman took Nadal to five sets at Wimbledon in 2010.

But such a scare never looked likely at the Spaniard’s home from home at Roland Garros.

This was the Nadal’s first appearance on Philippe Chatrier this year, after he was banished to Suzanne Lenglen for his first-round defeat of Benoit Paire.

And the king of clay looked pleased to be back in his throne room.

He has only ever dropped one set in the second round of Roland Garros, to Martin Klizan in 2013, and he is once again into the third round without expending much energy.

The 30-year-old has had an impressive resurgence this year, losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final and winning three clay-court tournaments in a row.

He is now 17-1 on his favoured surface this season.

He is heavy favourite to win an unprecedented 10th French Open and this display will have done nothing to dampen those hopes.

By Mail