Nadal trounces Benoit Paire in straight sets

Paris - Nadal launches his quest for a record 10th French Open title

Rafael Nadal launched his quest for a record 10th French Open title with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win over Frenchman Benoit Paire in Paris on Monday.
Nadal, who was forced to withdraw before last year's third round with a wrist injury, broke Paire eight times to brush aside the world number 45 in less than two hours.
"I'm very happy to be back here after what happened last year. It's great to feel the support," said the 14-time major champion.
Nadal dominated the opening set, then recovered from a slight second-set wobble when he dropped serve twice in a row to surge into a round two meeting with Dutchman Robin Haase.
The Spaniard, whose last Grand Slam triumph came at Roland Garros in 2014, improved his incredible French Open record to 73 wins and just two losses.
Nadal lost this year's Australian Open final in a five-set epic to Roger Federer, but the 30-year-old has marked himself out as the favourite on his preferred surface.
The fourth seed arrives in Paris with three clay-court titles to his name this season - winning both Monte Carlo and Barcelona for a 10th time, while securing a fifth Madrid Masters crown.
Meanwhile, after being denied a wildcard into his last French Open, Paul-Henri Mathieu pushed his body through three-rounds of qualifying but on Monday he could do no more and bowed out after a 6-2 6-2 6-2 first round loss to David Goffin.
The French veteran, who won the junior title at Roland Garros in 2000, pushed Rafa Nadal to the limit on the Parisian clay in 2006 and also won the second longest French Open singles match against John Isner in 2012.
French federation president Bernard Giudicelli, however, felt Mathieu's past heroics did not merit a wildcard entry into the 2017 main draw.
Mathieu, who reached a career-high ranking of 12th in 2008, felt further aggrieved when he saw he had been scheduled to play on Court One rather than on the main Philippe Chatrier or Suzanne Lenglen showcourts.
"It was tough physically this morning. I was aching everywhere when I woke up. There was no miracle possible," said the 35-year-old Mathieu, who recently suffered from a hip injury.
"I'm disappointed to finish like this. I lived incredible moments here."
It was Mathieu's 15th French Open.
"I would not have imagined ended up having to play the qualifications," said the world number 120, whose best performance at his home slam was reaching the fourth round in 2008.
"I dug deep to get into the main draw but at my age, you don't recuperate that well. Emotionally, too, I left a lot of energy last week."