AFP, Barcelona :
Rafael Nadal extended his Open Era record to 40 for consecutive sets won on clay on Thursday when he eased past Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and into the Barcelona quarter-finals.
World number one Nadal, chasing an 11th title at the tournament, a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for an 11th time, will next face Slovakia’s Martin Klizan.
Qualifier Klizan, ranked at 140, knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round and reached the last eight on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
It was Nadal’s 397th match win on clay in a career which includes 76 titles on all surfaces.
He set up the foundation for victory by winning nine straight games from 1-1 in the first set to 4-0 in the second set against Garcia-Lopez, the 34-year-old world number 69.
However, Nadal shrugged off his 40-set landmark.
“This record doesn’t matter but if I keep winning sets it will mean that I keep winning matches. I don’t think I can win all the sets from here to Roland Garros,” said 31-year-old Nadal, who will seek to win an 11th French Open in Paris at the conclusion of the clay-court season in June.
Rafael Nadal extended his Open Era record to 40 for consecutive sets won on clay on Thursday when he eased past Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and into the Barcelona quarter-finals.
World number one Nadal, chasing an 11th title at the tournament, a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for an 11th time, will next face Slovakia’s Martin Klizan.
Qualifier Klizan, ranked at 140, knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round and reached the last eight on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
It was Nadal’s 397th match win on clay in a career which includes 76 titles on all surfaces.
He set up the foundation for victory by winning nine straight games from 1-1 in the first set to 4-0 in the second set against Garcia-Lopez, the 34-year-old world number 69.
However, Nadal shrugged off his 40-set landmark.
“This record doesn’t matter but if I keep winning sets it will mean that I keep winning matches. I don’t think I can win all the sets from here to Roland Garros,” said 31-year-old Nadal, who will seek to win an 11th French Open in Paris at the conclusion of the clay-court season in June.
