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Nadal, 'super old' Federer cruise to French wins

PARIS -- Rafael Nadal has advice for kids dreaming about winning the French Open.

"The main thing is, don't think about winning Roland Garros," the 11-time champion said after reaching the third round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over German qualifier Yannick Maden.

The stands at Roland Garros are usually filled with children on Wednesdays, the traditional midweek day off for schools in France. Nadal was asked during his postmatch interview if he could give some tips for success on the Parisian clay to the children who watched him dispatch his opponent.

"Have fun, enjoy, and try your best every single day," Nadal said. "I never thought about [winning Roland Garros]. I've just tried my best, enjoyed the process. Think about your personal feeling; the most important thing is to finish your career knowing you gave your best every single day."

Nadal lost only six games in the first round against Yannick Hanfmann. He was on the verge of doing even better Wednesday but lost focus briefly in the third set and dropped his serve twice.

"That's just about concentration," Nadal said. "Because the feeling on the match has been positive. Positive thing is, every time that I [made] the mistake, then I had the break again, and that's the good news."

In the next round, Nadal will be up against 27th-seeded David Goffin.

Meanwhile, 37-year-old Roger Federer, joking that he's "so super old," returned to the third round with a predictably straightforward 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over 144th-ranked Oscar Otte.

Otte, 25, lost in qualifying in Paris but got into the main draw when another player withdrew.

Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the clay-court major in 2009, saved all four break points he faced and needed just a little more than 90 minutes to advance. He is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015.

He next plays 20-year-old Casper Ruud, whose father was in the field when Federer made his debut in Paris in 1999.

"I know probably more about his dad," Federer said, "than about him."

"Ever since I can remember, I've been watching Roger on TV," said Ruud, who knocked off 29th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. "To be honest, I've been a little bit more of a Rafa fan and Rafa guy."

Federer's friend and Swiss countryman Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 French Open champion and runner-up in 2017, also moved on with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Cristian Garin.

Wawrinka next faces Grigor Dimitrov, who outlasted 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-7 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in nearly 4 1/2 hours -- the longest match so far at this year's French Open thus far.

Cilic and Dimitrov were seeded third and fourth at Roland Garros last year, but both have fallen outside the top 10; Dimitrov is all the way down to No. 46.

Corentin Moutet produced the biggest win of his burgeoning career in front of his home crowd to reach the third round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Ranked 110th, the Frenchman defeated 19th-seeded Guido Pella of Argentina 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.

Moutet, 20, will next play countryman Richard Gasquet or Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina.

Sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced, making it to the third round at Roland Garros for the first time. The Greek player overcame a slow start to beat Hugo Dellien of Bolivia 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.

Tsitsipas, 20, achieved his best performance at a major in January at the Australian Open, losing in the semifinals. In the buildup to the French Open, he reached the final in Rome and the semifinals in Madrid.

Also, seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori rallied to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.