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ICYMI at French Open: Nadal's perfect birthday gift, Azarenka's fearless forehand

PARIS -- Let's talk about Rafael Nadal's clay-court accomplishments.

Grab a seat and a beverage -- it's going to take a while. OK, we're not going to go through every stat and accolade, but the numbers become more mind-blowing after each match.

On Friday, Nadal dropped just a single game in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. Not a bad way to celebrate the No. 4 seed's 100th best-of-five match on clay.

Here's a breakdown of that centennial mark.

What else can we tell you about Rafa's numbers? Here are some neat nuggets from our Stats & Info team:

  • Improves to 14-0 in third-round matches at the French

  • Now has 16 bagels here, nine more than he has at any other Slam

  • Believe it or not, amid the destruction, Rafa got down love-40 on one of his service games but held

All in all, not a bad way to spend his last day at 30. So, Rafa, you earned it. What would you like for your birthday Saturday?

"I don't really need gifts," Nadal said afterward. "I think the only thing that I can really dream of in this life is good health. Good health, myself, for my family, for my friends. It's the only thing you don't have control over. Celebrate? Of course. This is Roland Garros. I will try perhaps to go out for dinner with my family. But it's an important week for me here, and I think I do need to remain focused above all."

Sounds like a guy going for his 10th French Open title.


Tough break (literally) for American Shelby Rogers. A quarterfinalist last year at the French Open, Rogers was up 5-3 in the third set against red-hot Kristina Mladenovic. Rogers was broken, and eventually the two competitors went to OT with the Frenchwoman prevailing 5-7, 6-4, 8-6.

Of course, it didn't help Rogers that almost all of the 10,000 or so spectators were rooting for their hometown hopeful.

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands also lost, but red-hot Venus Williams cruised in straight sets.


Wait, how much is Andre Agassi getting paid to coach Novak Djokovic?

When asked to comment on Agassi's pro bono work, Djokovic responded: "I'm not going to get into that, but everything that he said is completely true, so it's completely his decision. You know how much he wants to get involved, how often he wants to be in person there with me."

Agassi also confirmed that he and Djokovic will be working together through at least Wimbledon.


Tough times for the Bryan brothers. The 16-time major winners were ousted Friday by Sam Groth and Robert Lindstedt. That's now 11 Grand Slam events since the twins last hoisted the winner's trophy.


Yes, Victoria Azarenka, we know you're geeked up to return to the court, but perhaps there's a safer method to hone your strokes than to take it out on these defensive, albeit brave, souls. For the record, Azarenka averages about 100 miles per hour on her forehand -- good enough to bruise a bottom or two.