ATP: 50! Sentences! In a row! I won! Nadal reaches quarter-finals with record results

Rafael Nadal has reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000s tournament in Madrid with an unchallenged two-set victory over Diego Schwartzman.

Schwartzman bravely entered the match and kept it open until 2-2, then Nadal mercilessly exploited the Argentinian’s brief moment of weakness. Also in round two the world number one broke to 3:2, but had to accept the equalization to 4:4. Schwartzman, however, immediately relinquished his serve with a double error, this time Nadal did not weaken afterwards. 6:3, 6:4 after 1 hour and 44 minutes of play.

Nadal broke the record set by John McEnroe, who had won 49 sets in a row on a surface in 1984 – on carpet. In other words: in a year in which Nadal was not yet born – on a surface that virtually no longer exists in professional tennis.

Rafa’s Sand series now continues, undefeated since his defeat to Dominic Thiem last year in the quarter-finals of Rome on clay. Since then Nadal has won the French Open 2018, two Davis Cup matches against Germany and the Monte Carlo and Barcelona tournaments this year – all without losing a set. Now, also by winning two sets, he is in the round of the last eight in Madrid, where he will face Dominic Thiem.

Thiem, the last one who hit Nadal on the sand, didn’t sound optimistic. “I want to win, but that was more realistic last year,” he said after his win over Borna Coric. The game starts at 5 pm.

The men’s single tableau in Madrid

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