Sun Jun 1 15:26:06 2008

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Nadal, Djokovic roll into quarterfinals at French Open

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Paris, France (Sports Network) - Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal and third-seeded Novak Djokovic posted fourth-round victories on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals at the famed red clay of Roland Garros.

Second-seeded Nadal easily beat 22nd-seeded fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 to improve his lifetime record at the French Open to an impressive 25-0.

Nadal put forth his best effort thus far as Verdasco struggled. Verdasco committed 38 unforced errors and six double faults.

The 21-year-old Nadal will face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals. Nadal is 2-0 in previous matches against Almagro.

Almagro edged crowd favorite Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 in his Day 8 match that last almost three hours.

The 22-year-old Almagro served up 19 aces in a match that had a combined 122 unforced errors. Chardy accounted for 74 of the errors.

Djokovic beat crowd favorite Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic is looking to win his first-ever French Open title; his best showing at Roland Garros came last year when he reached the semifinals.

Djokovic took advantage of Mathieu's sluggish first serve to convert all his four break points and win the first two sets.

Mathieu put up more of a fight in the third but Djokovic sealed the deal on his first match point when the Frenchman netted an easy forehand.

Australian Open champ Djokovic served up 14 aces, while Mathieu committed 36 unforced errors.

"This is something I definitely want to have as a weapon," said Djokovic about his serve. "But one of the best elements in my game today and throughout all the tournament was serve. So if I can rely on serve, then I'm relieved through the game, so then I can focus myself more on the baseline strokes."

The Serb Djokovic is 17-1 in his last 18 Grand Slam matches, including a flawless 11-0 mark this year. Djokovic will take on unseeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Gulbis continued his impressive play with his fourth-round 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over Frenchman Michael Llodra.

The big-serving Gulbis, the only Latvian to have played a major, took his chance on his only break point in the first set and sealed the opener with his fourth ace. Llodra fought back from a break down to take the second to a tiebreak, only to lose it 7-4.

This will be the first meeting between Djokovic and Gulbis. This is Gulbis' first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

The fourth round will conclude on Monday with the final four matches, including ones for world No.1 Roger Federer and fifth-seeded David Ferrer. The two-time French Open runner-up Federer will take on unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau, while Ferrer will play 21st-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek.

Other Day-9 fourth-rounders will pit 24th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez against American Robby Ginepri and 28th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic versus Frenchman Gael Monfils.