Rafael Nadal Tops Maximilian Marterer to Reach 2018 French Open Quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal continued his march toward an 11th French Open title on Monday as he progressed into the quarter-finals following a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Max Marterer.
After a sluggish start to the match, the top seed and defending champion settled into a devastating groove, dominating his young opponent over the course of the three sets on the Philippe-Chatrier Court.
Next up for the Spaniard is a meeting with Diego Schwartzman, who came back from two sets down to beat Kevin Anderson in a thrilling five-set encounter Monday.
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Nadal's victory here now means he's won an incredible 37 sets in succession at the French Open. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is closing in on the record, which is currently a mark of 41 held by the great Bjorn Borg.
After sweeping aside Richard Gasquet in the previous round, those in attendance Monday would've been expecting more fireworks from Nadal from the off. However, and not for the first time at this tournament, the top seed got off to a slow start.
Marterer, in fairness, took the racket out of Nadal's hand in the opening two games, grabbing a break and moving 2-0 up with some brilliant play. Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times put the German's run to Round 4 into perspective here:
His lead didn't last long, though, as Nadal started to crank up the pressure on the youngster.
The power and precision of Nadal saw him quickly restore parity before another three games pushed the top seed into a 5-2 lead. After that five-game run, he was able to close out the set 6-3, and even at this early stage, the German had a mountain to climb.
At the start of the second stanza, Marterer did appear a little jaded, and Nadal pounced to break at the first opportunity.
By this point, the tournament favourite was in total control of the rallies, and another break ensured he was able to romp to the second set 6-2.
With little to lose at the start of the third set, Marterer came out swinging and was able to make things a little more uncomfortable for Nadal. Indeed, he secured an early break and after moving 3-1 in front was in a good position to take a set.
Per Eurosport UK, there appeared to be a little complacency creeping into Nadal's game with a commanding lead secured:
That setback did spark Nadal into life, and he was quickly on the front foot again to break and restore parity in the set.
While Nadal raced away with the first set after a similar beginning to it, this time Marterer dug in well and was able to hold serve throughout the rest of the stanza, forcing Nadal into a tiebreak for just the second time at this tournament.
Unsurprisingly, Nadal was able to find another level. After Marterer took a 2-1 lead, the top seed stepped things up with some brutal forehands and four points later was into a 5-2 lead.
In the end, despite a tremendous late effort from Marterer, he was unable to contain the dynamism of Nadal. In fairness to the vanquished German, it's difficult to see anyone stopping the champion again this year.
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