Hindustan Times (Patiala)

Rafa on course after beating Marterer, says not done yet

Reaches his 12th quarterfin­al at Roland Garros, says he wants to continue playing

- sportsdesk@hindustant­imes.com n

Rafael Nadal said he doesn’t “feel old”, after moving a step closer to an incredible 11th French Open title on Monday by beating German Maximilian Marterer to reach the quarter-finals the day after his 32nd birthday.

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 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. “I don’t feel old. But I am 32, and I have been here since 2003, so it’s a long way, a lot of years,” he said.

“I started very young. That’s a real thing. But, no, I feel happy to be here. Being honest, I am enjoying the day by day on the tour and I hope to keep doing this for a while.” Nadal powered 39 winners past Marterer, who pushed the Spaniard as hard as he could without ever threatenin­g an upset.

He will face Argentinia­n Diego Schwartzma­n for a semifinal 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.

“It’s always good to see him in the quarter-final because he’s a good friend, a good person. He’s a worker, and I’m happy to see him having all this success. Hopefully not too much (though),” smiled Nadal, who had a brief practice session with Schwartzma­n last week.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion 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.

But Marterer -- who was playing in the main draw for the first time -- moved into a 3-1 lead early in the third as he threatened to become the first man to take a set off Nadal at Roland Garros since the Spaniard’s 2015 quarter-final defeat by Djokovic.

But the reigning champion quickly hit back.

DEL POTRO ADVANCES

Juan Martin Del Potro stormed into the French Open quarter-finals with a convincing 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat of the big-serving American John Isner on Monday.

Del Potro, regarded as one of the biggest threats to 10-time champion Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros, broke three times and held serve throughout to set up a meeting with either Croatian third seed Marin Cilic or Italian Fabio Fognini.

“I returned very well, it was the key to the match and I broke three times, I also played well on the important points,” said Del Potro.

 ?? REUTERS PHOTO ?? Rafael Nadal hasn’t lost a set during his march to the quarterfin­als at this year’s French Open. He will next face Argentina’s Diego Schwartzma­n.
REUTERS PHOTO Rafael Nadal hasn’t lost a set during his march to the quarterfin­als at this year’s French Open. He will next face Argentina’s Diego Schwartzma­n.

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