Stat of the Day: Rafael Nadal now 101-2 at Roland Garros

No player in the history of tennis has been more dominant at a single Grand Slam than Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, and the 13-time champion continued that dominance on Tuesday, holding off a third-set challenge from Australia's Alexei Popyrin to kick off his quest for title No. 14, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

Nadal is now 101-2 in his career at Roland Garros, the only two losses coming to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009, and to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in 2015.

In addition to winning Roland Garros the last four years in a row, the Spaniard has a few more streaks going on the terre battue: he’s won his last 31 matches in a row here since that loss to Djokovic in 2015, and he’s also won his last 26 sets in a row since dropping the second set of the 2019 final against Dominic Thiem, eventually cruising through the third and fourth sets of that one, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

Popyrin, who held two set points at 5-3 in the third set on Tuesday, was actually the first player to hold set point against Nadal at Roland Garros since Thiem won that second set of the 2019 final.

“I think it’s his court. It will always be his court. I think it’s his favorite court to play on,” Popyrin said afterwards. “And to nearly get a set out of him playing my first time on that court is a good achievement for me, but I’m still disappointed with it.”