Roland Garros—Paris, France
Defending champion Rafael Nadal won 17 games in a row during his fourth-round contest at the French Open on Monday, defeating good friend and Argentine Juan Monaco, 6-2, 6-0, 6-0.
In match that was utterly dominated by the Spaniard, Nadal struck 25 winners to 13 unforced errors, while breaking Monaco’s serve on eight occasions. Never losing a match on clay to Monaco, Nadal improved to 49-1 at the event and will next face countryman Nicolas Almagro for a place in the semifinals. Almagro defeated No. 8 seed Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Almagro, who won in Nice and Brazil earlier this year, is riding an eight match winning streak.
Nadal leads Almagro 7-0 in the pair’s career head-to-head.
Elsewhere, No. 6 seed David Ferrer roared into the final eight after trouncing Marcel Granollers, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.
Ferrer, who is looking to reach the semifinals at the French Open for the first time in his career, will next face Andy Murray. The Scot fought past Richard Gasquet, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
In matches carried over from Sunday because of darkness, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga closed out Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 and Juan Martin del Potro overcame Tomas Berdych, 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Tsonga will next face Novak Djokovic and del Potro will take on Roger Federer.
