Nadal marches into French Open quarter-finals

Concerns that Rafael Nadal's reign as king of Roland Garros might be in jeopardy due to an aching back proved wide of the mark yesterday as the eight-time champion produced a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 demolition job on Serbian Dusan Lajovic.

Next up will be a man who beat Nadal the last time they faced each other across a net -- fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who defeated Kevin Anderson. But no one feels more at home at Roland Garros than Nadal.

The top seed, who said he had to slow down his serve in his previous match after being troubled by back pain, left Lajovic with a sore head and aching joints as he went on a rampage to go 5-0 up in the first set before rattling off 17 straight points at the start of the second.

On the eve of his 28th birthday, a screaming forehand winner allowed Nadal to take his formidable French Open win-loss record to 63-1 and he is just three wins away from again sinking his teeth into the Musketeers' Cup.