NADAL CRUSHES HIS FRIEND GASQUET
ADVANCES TO 4TH ROUND OF FRENCH OPEN WITH 63, 62, 62 WIN
:Rafael Nadal continued his bid for an 11th French Open title on Saturday by brushing aside home favourite Richard Gasquet to claim a 16th consecutive win over his childhood friend and reach the fourth round.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion has still never lost to his old junior rival at Tour level, after easing to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 31-year-old took his run of consecutive completed sets at the French Open to 34, just seven shy of the record held by Bjorn Borg between 1979 and 1981.
Nadal, who lost only two points in the first five games, will next play Germany’s world No 70 Maximilian Marterer, who beat Estonian lucky loser Jurgen Zopp.
Hard-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov knocked out France’s No 1 player Lucas Pouille 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the third round after the rain-hit match resumed.
Khachanov, who will be in the last 16 for the second year in a row, always had 15th seed Pouille on the back foot and now takes on German wunderkind Alexander Zverev.
The match was interrupted by rain on Friday with world number 38 Khachanov having won the first two sets and the Russian was just as focused when play started again on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Italian maverick Fabio Fognini edged a topsy-turvy five-setter against British number one Kyle Edmund to reach the fourth round. King of the unpredictable, the 18th seed mixed dazzling brilliance with careless errors and even lost 16 points in a row at one stage before prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Marin Cilic brought out his A-game to swiftly dispatch hapless American Steve Johnson 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the third round.
The Croatian third seed whipped nine aces and 35 winners past Johnson to reach the last 16 for the fifth time in 12 visits.
Cilic will next face Fognini for a place in the quarter-finals.