Teens Nadal, Gasquet set up third-round battle

PARIS -- One charismatic teen bludgeoned the ball, the other stroked it elegantly. The first showed off sculpted biceps with a sleeveless neon green shirt, the other motored around court on muscle-bulging legs.

Spain's Rafael Nadal and France's Richard Gasquet, 18-year-olds born 15 days and a couple hundred miles apart, proved there wasn't a shred of hype about their talents as one followed the other with masterful center court victories at the French Open on Wednesday to set up a third-round showdown.

Nadal, the No. 4 seed and winner of five clay-court tournaments this year, posted a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Belgium's Xavier Malisse.

Gasquet, who turns 19 on June 18, unleashed fluid forehands and stunningly hard, one-handed backhands in beating net-charging Peter Wessels of the Netherlands 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-1.

Top-seeded Roger Federer won with a 6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-2 rout of Nicolas Almagro. Women's No. 1 Lindsay Davenport rallied to beat Chinese teenager Shuai Peng 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0.

Venus Williams also reached the third round, as did Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters and 2000 champion Mary Pierce.