PARIS // Rafael Nadal began his second French Open winning streak yesterday with a straight-sets win over Gianni Mina, the plucky French teenager. Four-time champion Nadal, who last year suffered his first defeat at Roland Garros in his 32nd match there, did not have it all his own way. But Mina's energy and enthusiasm were not enough to prevent him falling to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 defeat and handing Nadal a second-round match against Horacio Zeballos or Martin Fischer.
"I feel good, this is the most important thing for a sportsman," Nadal said. "I went through bad moments last year." Mina, at world No 655 the lowest-ranked player in the draw, repeatedly earned break points on the Nadal serve but was unable to convert any of them. Meanwhile, three days after a foul-mouthed volley at French fans at the Nice Open, Fernando Verdasco was surprisingly quiet in Paris yesterday.
The Spaniard hurled insults at the locals on the Riviera as he was booed in his final against Richard Gasquet, the home favourite, on Saturday. Verdasco, who eventually apologised, got an indifferent reception from the Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd, the main reason probably being that he was opening proceedings in an almost empty stadium. Following his 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 first-round win against Igor Kunitsyn, the seventh-seeded Verdasco was cautious not to fuel the controversy. "No, there's nothing I can add about this," he told reporters.
The Spaniard, however, will be guaranteed a less polite reception in round two when he faces Florent Serra, who is French. Andy Roddick avoided becoming the biggest men's casualty of this year's tournament after coming from two sets to one down to beat Jarkko Nieminen. The notoriously clay-shy American avoided a fifth first-round exit in nine appearances thanks to a 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt beat Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 in last night's final match on Philippe Chartrier. * Agencies
