Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal has stormed into a French Open quarterfinal against David Ferrer, with rock star Prince in the stands and King Juan Carlos on his mind.
World number one Nadal celebrated his 28th birthday a day early by brushing aside outclassed Dusan Lajovic, the world 83 from Serbia, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 on Monday.
He was at his ruthless, efficient best against Lajovic, who claimed a paltry 15 points off the champion’s serve.
Watched by US rocker Prince, who played a concert in the French capital on Sunday night, Nadal, seeking to become the first man to win five French Opens in a row, needed just 93 minutes to go through to a last-eight showdown with Ferrer.
The two men met in last year’s final, where Nadal allowed his 32-year-old Davis Cup teammate just eight games.
Despite his Philippe Chatrier court mauling, Lajovic at least had the consolation of avoiding the worst Roland Garros rout handed out by Nadal.
That unwanted record belongs to Juan Monaco, who won just two games in a fourth-round drubbing in 2012.
“Dusan had a great tournament, he had three good wins,” said Nadal, whose record in Paris now stands at 63 wins against just one defeat.
“It’s never easy playing on this Philippe Chatrier court for the first time. I controlled the points from the baseline and I am happy to be into another quarterfinal.”
Such was the ease of Nadal’s latest Paris win that he spent most of his time at his post-match news conference discussing the abdication of King Juan Carlos of Spain.
“He is a wonderful person who was a great representative of our country and Spain should thank him,” said Nadal.
“I had the opportunity to meet him on quite a few occasions. He was always very nice and warm towards me. He made me feel very comfortable every time we met.”
Nadal holds a 21-6 advantage over Ferrer in their career meetings but it was his compatriot who won their most recent clash in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals in April.
Ferrer reached his 10th successive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-1 win over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Ferrer had beaten Anderson, who was hoping to be the first South African man in the last eight since Cliff Drysdale in 1967, at the same stage of the tournament last year.
“Tactically, I will have to be perfect against Rafa,” said Ferrer.
Later Monday, seventh-seeded Andy Murray, a semifinalist in 2011, tackles Spanish 24th seed Fernando Verdasco.
Murray has a 9-1 career advantage over the 30-year-old left-hander, although Verdasco gave the Briton a huge scare in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.
Verdasco won the first two sets before Murray rallied on his way to his historic title triumph in London.
The winner will meet either 23rd seed Gael Monfils, the last French player standing, or Spanish journeyman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
