Roger Federer lost his trademark cool but found some vintage tennis as he beat Marin Cilic 6-2 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2 to move into the third round of the French Open on Friday (NZ time).
The 39-year-old Swiss brushed Cilic aside in a one-sided first set but lost the second after a heated debate with the chair umpire over the time he was taking to towel down before Cilic knocked him off his stride.
Twice Federer has played big-serving Cilic in Grand Slam finals, winning both, and the duo's 11th career meeting produced some high-octane tennis in a pivotal third set.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Federer, who had played only three matches in 17 months coming into Roland Garros, closed out the match in clinical fashion to set up a third-round against Germany's 59th-ranked Dominik Koepfer.
Clay court machine Rafa Nadal celebrated his 35th birthday by handing his longtime pal Richard Gasquet a 6-0 7-5 6-2 masterclass as he stormed into the third round.
Thirteen-time Roland Garros champion Nadal showed no mercy as he demolished the Frenchman for the 17th time in as many professional encounters.
The Spaniard has never been troubled by the Frenchman's single-handed backhand and produced a ruthless display as he took a step closer in his pursuit of a male record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
Gasquet only managed nine points in the opening set as he lost seven games in a row, being totally overwhelmed by Nadal's top spin and his forehands down the line.
Improving his Roland Garros record to a jaw dropping 102-2, Nadal has not dropped a set here since beating Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final.
Women's world number one Ash Barty of Australia retired from her second round match against Poland's Magda Linette with injury.
The 2019 champion, who was trailing 6-1 2-2 against Linette, started the second-round match with taping on her left thigh, having said earlier that she suffered a flare-up through her left hip during the weekend.
The 25-year-old's return to Roland Garros ended in disappointment after she opted to not defend her title last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barty had faced problems with her movement on court during the opening round against Bernarda Pera but her physical condition improved against the American after receiving medical attention before the deciding set.
The top-seeded Australian called the trainer on court once again after the first set, which she lost in just 27 minutes, hoping to be able to play on after receiving help.
Barty returned to Philippe Chatrier court after the medical timeout and played four more games before deciding she could no longer continue.
Men's World number one Novak Djokovic put on a clinical display to stroll past Uruguyan Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Cuevas, ranked 92nd, showed flashes of resistance against the 34-year-old Serbian but the top seed raised his game when he needed to and produced some sublime winners off his backhand to keep alive his chase for a 19th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic broke Cuevas's serve a second time to go up 5-3 in the opening set but found himself 0-40 down on his own serve. The Serbian, however, grabbed the next five points to seal the lead on a sunlit Suzanne Lenglen court.
The 35-year-old Cuevas's challenge fell away as Djokovic broke his opponent's serve three more times to complete the win and set up a clash against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis, who beat Australian James Duckworth 7-5 2-6 7-6(4) 6-0.
Coco Gauff reached the third round for the first time as the 17-year-old American battled past China's Wang Qiang 6-3 7-6(1).
Gauff eased through the opening set after jumping out to a 3-0 lead but did not have things her own way after that against the player she beat to win the Parma title last month.
Former world number 12 Qiang served for the second set at 5-3 but was broken and then had a set point on the Gauff serve after the American double-faulted.
But 24th-seeded Gauff showed great resilience to take the set into a tiebreak that she never looked like losing.
After two straight-sets wins she will now face either Fiona Ferro or fellow American Jennifer Brady in the last 32.
Reuters
