Nadal rocks into French Open quarter-finals

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning his men's singles match against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 2, 2014. REUTERS Photo

Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal brushed aside outclassed Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 on Monday to storm into the French Open quarter-finals.
      
World number one Nadal, who turns 28 on Tuesday, was at his ruthless, efficient best against the world number 83 who claimed a paltry 15 points off the champion's serve.
      
Watched by US rock star 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 compatriot David Ferrer.
      
The two men met in last year's final where Nadal allowed Ferrer 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 loss 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 quarter-final."       

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 quarter-finals in April.