Nadal hurries to record streak at Roland Garros

RAFAEL Nadal had plenty of reasons for wanting to hurry Teimuraz Gabashvili off court at the French Open tennis.

QUICK FIRE: Rafael Nadal took just over two hours to beat Teimuraz Gabashvili in their second round match at the French Open tennis (Getty Images)

The win secured him a 30th consecutive victory at Roland Garros - overtaking Chris Evert to establish a record some thought would never fall, as his own.

Overcast conditions also threatened to force him to complete the match on Thursday, when he was looking forward to a day of rest, a very important factor for a creature of habit like Nadal.

But, most importantly, the Spaniard wanted to get to a television set to watch his beloved Barcelona take on Manchester United in the Champions League final.

And he wasn't about to let a player ranked 72 in the world get between him and the big match.

Against that backdrop Gabashvili never really stood a chance.

And although he put up an occasionally spirited effort, Nadal continued his relentless run of wins in Paris with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

"I came here to get a result without thinking about records," said Nadal.

"The important thing is to play my best tennis and be there in the final.

"I played better than I did in the first round and I'm pleased to win in three sets."

The four-time champion, seeking an unprecedented fifth consecutive win, will face former world number one Lleyton Hewitt after he beat Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.

"He's the man to beat here and he has been for the last four or five years now," said Hewitt.

"So I'll go out there and play my game and hopefully I can have one of my best matches."

Elsewhere, Fernando Verdasco, the number eight seed, also progressed with ease - beating Germany's Philipp Petzschner 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 while seventh seed Gilles Simon beat American Robert Kendrick in straight sets.

Andy Murray needed to summon all his fighting qualities to beat Italy's Polito Starace but there was disappointment for British doubles specialist Ross Hutchins.

Hutchins and Australian partner Stephen Huss have enjoyed a run of recent success and were seeded 13th in Paris.

But they were never in the match against Argentina's Jose Acasuso and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, losing 6-4, 6-2 in 61 minutes.