French Open: Rafael Nadal too good for David Goffin despite dropping first set at Roland Garros in 2019

Victory puts the Spaniard into last 16 as he continues bid for 12th Roland Garros title and third in a row

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Rafael Nadal moved through to the fourth round at the French Open despite dropping his first set of the 2019 tournament.

The Spaniard who is bidding for a 12th major title in Paris he defeated 27th seed David Goffin 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Nadal started brilliantly as Goffin won only two points in the first three games.

He was quickly 5-0 up and sealed the set in just 30 minutes, and then two breaks in the second serve put him in complete control.

But Goffin rallied. He survived three break points in the second game of the third set then held his own before breaking at the second attempt in the ninth game.

He held his nerve to halve the deficit on his first set point, but this proved to be a minor inconvenience to Nadal rather then the start of something more troubling.

He broke in the fourth game of the next set and he cruised on to victory from there.

Nadal joins arch-rival Roger Federer, who had earlier beaten Casper Ruud, in the last 16.

Nadal will face either Juan Ignacio Londero or Corentin Moutet for a spot in the quarter-finals.