Rafael Nadal has blown away American qualifier Sebastian Korda 6-1 6-1 6-2 to romp into the French Open quarter-finals and close in on a record-extending 13th title at Roland Garros.
With the sun out and the wind up on Court Philippe Chatrier it always looked like mission impossible for the 213th-ranked Korda and so it proved on Sunday in a one-sided fourth-round match.
“I’m in the quarter-finals without losing a set and having very positive scores. So I can’t complain at all,” the 34-year-old, who needs one more Grand Slam title to equal Roger Federer’s 20, said.
Korda, 20, actually had two break points in Nadal’s opening service game that spanned nine minutes, and also had game point in the next game in a competitive opening.
He did not win either, however, and once Nadal had sprinted into a 5-0 lead the American already looked down and out in Paris.
Korda, son of 1998 Australian Open champion and 1992 French Open runner-up Petr, was unable to cope with the strong breeze or Nadal’s heavy spin as the first two sets went by in little more than an hour.
Nadal has dropped only 23 games so far and is yet to face a seed. He will next take on rising Italian Jannik Sinner in his 42nd Grand Slam quarter-final, third on the all-time list.
Sinner earned his place in the last eight by downing German sixth seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3, in the process becoming the first debutant to reach the French Open quarter-finals since Nadal himself in 2005.
The 19-year-old will also be the youngest male player since Novak Djokovic in 2006 to feature in the last eight at Roland Garros.
After the match, Zverev complained of feeling unwell and struggling to breathe, although the French tennis federation (FFT), who run the tournament, said he was tested for COVID-19 on September 29 and the test returned a negative result the following day.
Organisers said Zverev did not consult with the Roland Garros medical service before his match against Sinner.
Dominic Thiem survived a brave fightback from French wild card Hugo Gaston to take his place in the quarter-finals.
US Open champion Thiem looked to be sailing through to the last eight when he led Gaston, ranked 239, by two sets to love but the 20-year-old Frenchman battled back to force a decider.
Thiem, who had not dropped a set in his first three matches, began to look physically and mentally weary as Gaston, who defeated Stan Wawrinka in the third round, repeatedly dragged him to the net with drop shots.
But the Austrian held his nerve in the fifth set as his opponent showed his inexperience at crucial moments, Thiem eventually winning 6-4 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-3 after three hours and 32 minutes.
“It was an amazing match for both of us, such good fighting qualities for him,” Thiem said. “I haven’t seen for a very long time a player with such a big touch in his hands. His drop shots were from another planet.
“I was losing a little bit of energy, he was playing amazing. In the fifth set I found somehow new energy. It was a great fight to the end and I’m very lucky I made it through today.”
In the last eight, Thiem will face 12th seed Diego Schwartzman, who beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-3 6-4.