Rafael Nadal delivered himself the perfect belated birthday present on Monday by reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open as the Spaniard insisted he does not “feel old”.
Nadal, who turned 32 on Sunday, closed out a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 win over a game Maximilian Marterer in the fourth round and will face Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the semi-finals.The world No 1’s victory over Germany’s Marterer was also his 900th win at ATP Tour level.
It also saw the Spaniard equal the record of 12 last-eight appearances at Roland Garros, which was set by Serbia’s Novak Djokovic the day before.
Top seed Nadal 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.
Quarter-final opponent Schwartzman staged a thrilling comeback to down sixth seed Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2.