French Open 2018: Rafael Nadal notches 80th Roland Garros win; Maria Sharapova fights back to reach 2nd round

Paris: Rafael Nadal racked up his 80th win at Roland Garros on Tuesday as the 10-time champion defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9) to reach the second round. World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4487385” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his first round at French Open against Simone Bolelli. AP[/caption] He quickly levelled at 3-3 on Tuesday and saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points. Nadal eventually claimed the match on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net. The top seeded Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina’s Guido Pella for a place in the last-32. Meanwhile in the women’s section, two-time champion Maria Sharapova survived a serious scare to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp in her first French Open match since 2015 on Tuesday. The Russian was controversially not given a wildcard by organisers for the tournament last year, which took place shortly after her return from a doping suspension. Sharapova, the 28th seed, will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the second round. The five-time Grand Slam winner is only seeded at Roland Garros courtesy of a semi-final run in Rome earlier this month which dragged her back into the top 30 for the first time since her ban. The 31-year-old took just 24 minutes to win the first set of a match which was delayed from Monday due to thunderstorms, but threw away a 3-1 lead in the second as world number 133 Hogenkamp forced a decider. Sharapova was staring down the barrel of falling at first hurdle in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2010 Australian Open when trailing 3-0 in the third, but the former world number one dug deep and reeled off six straight games to edge into round two.