Paris, May 30: Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached the third round of French Open after thrashing Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 here Thursday.

World No. 57 Thiem showed some flashes of genius to break the top ranked Spaniard twice, but was broken seven times and committed 41 unforced errors, reports Xinhua.

The 20-year-old Austrian ran out of steam infront of the invincible eight-time winner who was in ruthless form.

Nadal praised Thiem for his great potential.

"Dominic is a dangerous player and I knew that if I wasn't playing well then I'd be in trouble," said Nadal.

"But he is a future star, 100 percent. His level of ball play is very high. He is strong on the forehand and backhand. He has everything to be a big champion."

Nadal will face either Leonardo Mayer of Argentina or Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili in the third round.

Fifth seed David Ferrer of Spain also advanced with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Italy's Simone Bolelli.

IANS