The 24-year-old Spaniard weathered some fierce early hitting by the powerful Soderling before taking command on Court Philippe Chatrier and surging to victory in two hours 18 minutes.
Nadal was in a miserly mood against the man who stunned him in last year's fourth round, his only defeat at Roland Garros, and Soderling's challenge fizzled out in disappointing fashion.
Soderling, last year's runner-up, could find no way through Nadal's defenses and once he dropped serve in the fifth game of the first set the outcome seemed inevitable.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman)
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