After brushing off two German qualifiers called Yannick in the opening two rounds, Rafael Nadal will face what is, on paper at least, a significantly tougher test in the form of David Goffin.
The Belgian 27th seed is at least a regular on the ATP Tour and has beaten the Spaniard in the past – albeit in rather different conditions on the indoor hard courts of the O2 in London.
Goffin has taken him to a tiebreak on clay – it can often be fairly slim pickings when trying to find a good result against Nadal on his favoured surface – in Madrid back in 2017, although this has not been a particularly stellar year for the 28-year-old.
Regardless of how well Goffin is playing, Nadal has only lost two matches on the clay courts of Paris – to Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling – and only one other player – John Isner – has forced him to five sets. But the Belgian hopeful is not fazed by the Spaniard’s record.
‘Well, I don’t think much of it, apart from the fact that I think he likes to play at the French Open,’ Goffin said. ‘He likes the tournament. You don’t even need to look at the figures. We know that he’s at home at the French Open. He’s the king.
‘I will do my best to upset him as much as possible, and we will see after the match.’
The experience of beating Nadal in the past should help Goffin and he gave an insight into the tactics he’ll use to overthrow the ‘king’.
‘In key times I performed well against Rafael Nadal regardless of the surface,’ he added. ‘The fact is you need to hold on as long as possible. You need to be strong in key times.
‘And when there’s the slightest opportunity, you need to seize it because he’s one of the best players when things get tough. In tiebreaks or at the end of a set is usually when he plays the best. And this is when you need to seize whatever opportunity there is and you need to carry on physically speaking.
‘It’s extremely difficult because his game is heavy. You need to attack constantly. You can’t give up. Because when you give up even for a couple of minutes, it can change the order of things.
‘I need to use my strength of course. I need to use angles. I need to play early. If he plays short shots, I will have to do it. But if I have to run a lot, it will be to his favor. And when he starts dictating the match, it becomes very difficult.
‘So I need to make use of his strength as an advantage to dictate the match myself. I need to have good serves as well. It is important. I need to be aggressive, but his defense is so good. He knows how to move around the court. It will be a big court, so it’s extremely difficult to challenge him on clay.
‘Of course for such a match I hope that the atmosphere will be great on a good court, and I will need to play as good as possible.’
Nadal certainly respects Goffin as an opponent and is expecting a real test on Friday.
‘He’s a very complex player,’ the 32-year-old said. ‘He has all the shots. He’s a player who have an amazing career, and we practised a lot of times. We know each other well.
‘He’s an opponent that you need to play very well to have success against him. He is quick. He has very good angles. Gonna be, being honest, a big challenge to be in the third round. Here we are. I gonna try my best to be ready for it.’
Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, enjoyed a statement win out on Court 1.
The three-time Grand Slam champion – and winner in these parts in 2015 – defeated in-form Cristian Garin 6-1 6-4 6-0. Marin Cilic or Grigor Dimitrov await him in the next round.
While Dan Evans and Cam Norrie were both knocked out in singles, the pair won their opening doubles match against Steve Johnson and Denis Kudla.
