HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
PARIS (AP) — Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal stretched his French Open winning streak to 31 matches, equaling his longest run at the tournament, with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory over 65th-ranked Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the third round Saturday.
The last time Nadal won 31 in a row at Roland Garros, he failed to make it 32, losing in the fourth round in 2009 to Robin Soderling.
That remains the Spaniard’s only defeat in 63 matches at the tournament.
Nadal has reached the fourth round all 10 times he has entered the French Open. Roger Federer, who won his third-round match Friday, is the only other man to make it to the final 16 in Paris that many times in a row.
The top-seeded Nadal made only 10 unforced errors against Mayer.
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