Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to an incredible 11th French Open title on Monday by seeing off German Maximilian Marterer in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals. The world number one's 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over the world number 70 saw him equal the record of 12 last-eight appearances at Roland Garros, which was set by Novak Djokovic the day before.
Top seed Nadal, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, is now on his own in third on the all-time list for most match wins at Grand Slam events with 234 victories after passing Jimmy Connors. He powered 39 winners past Marterer, who pushed the Spaniard as hard as he could without ever threatening an upset. Nadal will face Argentinian Diego Schwartzman for a semi-final spot, after the 11th seed staged a thrilling comeback to down sixth seed Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2.
"The third set was very difficult, Maximilian is a good player," said Nadal, who has now won 37 consecutive sets at Roland Garros, just four short of Bjorn Borg's record set between 1979 and 1981. Nadal was caught cold in the opening stages as some big hitting from Marterer brought him the first two games. But it didn't take Nadal long to figure out his opponent, reeling off four straight games en route to an inevitable one-set lead.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion raced through the second set in just 38 minutes, breaking his opponent's serve twice.