Madrid: Clay maestro Rafael Nadal made a confident start to the latest phase of his French Open build-up with a 6-4 6-3 dismissal of Oleksandr Dolgopolov in the second round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
The world number three has already won two Masters events on his favoured surface this year, in Monte Carlo and Rome, and will be bidding for a fifth Roland Garros crown in Paris later this month.
Watched by Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and former France captain Zinedine Zidane on an unseasonably-chilly Manolo Santana centre court, Nadal thrilled the noisy crowd with some fist-pump inducing winners.
The unorthodox Dolgopolov cracked some mighty winners of his own and mixed his game up with a few deft drop shots but never looked like mounting a consistent threat to the Spaniard's dominance of the red dust.
The Ukrainian qualifier, 21, saved one match point on his serve but on Nadal's second his shot clipped the top of the net and flew long to put the 23-year-old through to face American John Isner in the last 16.
"He's very unusual and very difficult to play against and I helped him play well by playing the ball too short," a self-critical Nadal said at a news conference.
Looking ahead to his match against Isner, who is more than two metres tall and has a booming serve, Nadal said: "He's one of the most dangerous players on the Tour.
"You know that if you lose your serve it will be very difficult to get back into the set.
"I will try my best to play better than today. I was practising well but I didn't play well but I think tomorrow will be better for sure."
VOMITING, SWEATING
Nadal's conqueror in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year, Robin Soderling, suffered a surprise defeat by Nicolas Almagro.
The French Open runner-up, seeded fourth, lost 6-4 7-5 to the unseeded Spaniard and will miss out on a possible meeting with Nadal in the semi-finals.
Andy Roddick's preparations for the French Open were also dealt a blow when he was forced to withdraw due to a virus.
The American world number eight suffered bouts of vomiting and sweating this week and said he found it hard to focus on the ball during his first-round men's doubles loss on Tuesday.
"Obviously, this is far from perfect in terms of preparation heading into Paris but you play the hand you are dealt," the pale-looking Roddick told a brief news conference.
"Playing well there isn't out of the question but it's just going to be a little bit tougher."
Nadal opted not to compete at last month's Barcelona Open, where he had won the previous five years, to make sure he did not suffer a repeat of the knee injuries that dogged him in 2009 after a gruelling European clay swing.
The decision looks to have left him fit and hungry for a second Madrid Masters title after he won the event in 2005 when it was played on indoor hard court.
If he reaches Sunday's final, Nadal will reclaim the number two ranking from Novak Djokovic, who pulled out of Madrid due to illness.
Nadal is looking to set a new record for Master Series titles of 18, beating the current record he shares with Andre Agassi, who won his 17th at the age of 34 in 2004.
World number one Roger Federer, who beat Nadal in the Madrid final last year before capturing his first French Open crown, has 16 Masters titles and is due to play Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday.
Third-seeded Briton Andy Murray plays his second-round match against Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Chela later on Wednesday.
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