French Open: Rafael Nadal cruises past Roberto Bautista Agut to reach quarters
Tuesday 6 June 2017 08:36, UK
Rafael Nadal powered into a record-equalling 11th French Open quarter-final with a 6-1 6-2 6-2 win over Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday.
Nadal, who turned 31 on Saturday, equals the mark for Roland Garros last-eight appearances held by Roger Federer.
The fourth seed will next face another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, after he beat fifth seed Milos Raonic 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-7 (6) 6-4 8-6 in a thrilling match.
Nine-time champion Nadal has dropped just 20 games in four rounds so far, just one more than he lost at the same stage in 2012.
"I'm happy because Roberto is a very good player. It's very important for me to be in the quarter-finals one more time," he said.
Nadal hit 31 winners in the match compared to just 12 for Bautista Agut and clinched victory after an hour and 50 minutes.
Novak Djokovic is also through to the last-eight in Paris after defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (5) 6-1 6-3.
The Serb struggled in the opening set, twice fighting back from a break down to claim it on a tie-break.
That settled Djokovic, who cruised through the second set and by the third was back in control.
Ramos-Vinolas played his part, with the crowd rising for a standing ovation after one remarkable rally.
But he could not turn the tide and Djokovic advanced to set up an intriguing clash with No 6 seed Dominic Thiem after the Austrian eased past Argentina's Horacio Zeballos 6-1 6-3 6-1.
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