World number five Kei Nishikori booked his place in the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets win over Thomaz Bellucci in Paris this afternoon.
Bellucci entered the match on a six-game winning streak having won his first ATP title in almost three years at the Geneva Open last week, but he couldn't match his higher-ranked opponent on the Philippe Chatrier court.
The Brazilian was on the back foot for much of the first set, but he saved four break points and was level at 5-5 and in with a chance of nicking the opener.
However, he was then broken in the 11th game and Nishikori, of Japan, served out the set 7-5.
The momentum was with the fifth seed and he raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set with a couple of breaks. Bellucci grabbed one break back, but couldn't complete the turnaround as Nishikori went 2-0 up with a 6-4 success.
It was a similar story in the third, with Nishikori closing out the match 6-4 after again going a double-break up before Bellucci got one back.
Up next for Nishikori in round three will be Benjamin Becker, who upset 32nd-seed Fernando Verdasco in five sets earlier today.
Pascal Lemesre
