Nadal, Schwartzman and Del Potro in quarterfinals

paris — 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 quarterfinals 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.

Juan Martin Del Potro too stormed into the quarters with a convincing 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat of the big-serving American John Isner.

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, who throughout the match heard parts of the crowd chant ‘USA, USA!”

“I love playing here in the USA, USA!,” he joked.

“We both played good tennis today. It is so special to get to the quarter-finals here, I’m having great days in Paris and I’d like to stay a few more days.”

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 quarterfinal 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. —