The Rafael Nadal claycourt bandwagon rolled on to a record 69 consecutive wins on Thursday as the Spaniard cruised to a 6-1 6-4 victory over Swede Thomas Johansson to reach the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open.
The top seed, bidding to become only the second man to win the title in three successive years, lost just five points on his own serve as he marched into the last eight. Nadal now will play Potito Starace after the Italian upset eighth seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-4 7-6, clinching victory on his fifth match point.