To nobody’s surprise, Rafael Nadal booked his place at the final eight of the 2011 Roland Garros tournament after beating veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Nadal’s record at the claycourt Slam is now at 42-1 and he’s just three matches away to tying Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles.
Nadal has not lost a set since the second round, an indication that he has learned from a scary opening round match against John Isner of the USA wherein the latter pushed him to five sets, the first one to do so against Nadal at this tournament.
“For moments, I am playing well. But for moments, I am still having few mistakes in a row. That’s what cannot happen in next round,” Nadal said.
Next up for the defending champion is Robin Soderling of Sweden. Nadal knows his next opponent too well as it was Soderling who handed his lone loss at the French Open – in 2009. Soderling is a two-time finalist here in Paris. He lost in last year’s final against Nadal.
