French Open 2012: Rafael Nadal beats Juan Monaco in Paris
- Published
Rafael Nadal remains in contention for a record seventh French Open title after destroying Argentina's Juan Monaco to reach the quarter-finals.
The second seed beat clay specialist Monaco 6-2 6-0 6-0 in an hour and 46 minutes, winning all 17 games after his opponent held for 2-1 in the first set.
Nadal will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro after his 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over Janko Tipsarevic.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro also won.
Tsonga resumed against Stanislas Wawrinka leading 4-2 in the deciding set after bad light stopped play on Sunday.
The fifth seed was immediately broken back but prevailed 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 3-6 6-4 to set up a meeting with top seed Novak Djokovic.
That match takes place second on Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday.
"Physically, I feel good - the more I play, the better I play," said Tsonga, who aims to become first Frenchman to win a Grand Slam title since Yannick Noah's triumph at Roland Garros in 1983.
"There is more pressure on him. For me to play on clay is never easy, I did my best results on grass or hard courts.
"Clay is difficult but I'm sure I will be able to play well, and playing in front of my crowd I have nothing to lose against the world number one."
Sixth seed Ferrer, who will meet Andy Murray in the last eight, is still yet to drop a set after his 6-3 6-2 6-0 win against Marcel Granollers.
Del Potro, seeded ninth, led seventh seed Tomas Berdych 2-1 overnight and came through 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-3 7-5.
The big-hitting Argentine faces Roger Federer in Tuesday's second match on Court Suzanne Lenglen, where play starts at 13:00 BST.
However, nobody enjoyed a smoother passage than Nadal, whose victory means three of the eight quarter-finalists are Spanish.
Monaco battled hard at the start of the first set but was ground down in game five and Nadal never looked back.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion broke again for 5-2 with an unreturnable forehand and served out with an overhead.
Monaco wasted two chances early in the second set and that was as close as he got as Nadal snapped up the 34-minute second set.
He opened up a 4-0 lead in the third and fought back from 40-15 down to break again for 5-0 before cruising over the line.
- Published4 June 2012
- Published4 June 2012
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