• Barcelona Open

Nadal bulldozes his way into quarter-finals

Rafael Nadal is unbeaten in 29 matches on clay © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal left another clay-court specialist flailing in his wake as he cruised into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open.

The world No. 1 remains on course for a sixth title in Barcelona as he extended his unbeaten run in Catalunya to 27 matches with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Colombia's Santiago Giraldo.

Having claimed his first title of the year in Monte Carlo last week, Nadal is the hot favourite to defend his French Open crown in June, and has dropped just one set (against Andy Murray) so far on clay in 2011.

Nadal started aggressively and his power and range soon earned him a break, but he was pegged back as the world No. 54 clawed his way back into the set. However, the Colombian's serve let him down and Nadal took full advantage as he won 53% of points on return to clinch the opening set in 48 minutes.

Nadal was relentless in his attack, and another early break set him well on the way to victory and he faced little resistance as he sealed the result after an hour and 23 minutes.

The top seed will now meet Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals after the world No. 10 triumphed 6-4 7-6(7) in an all-French encounter against Richard Gasquet.

David Ferrer is another player enjoying a strong showing on the clay, and despite being outmuscled by Nadal in Sunday's Monte Carlo Masters final, Ferrer will be considered a serious contender for French Open.

The Spaniard dropped just nine points on serve as he cruised to a 6-3 6-2 victory over Romania's Victor Hanescu in a little over an hour. Ferrer will now meet Jurgen Melzer in the last eight following the Austrian's 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 win over Albert Montanes.

Nicolas Almagro was the third Spaniard to book his place in the quarter-finals, and his 7-6(2) 6-3 win over Nikolay Davydenko was enough to guarantee his place in the top ten when the new rankings are released on Monday.

However, it was not all plain sailing for Almagro, who found himself 5-2 down in the opening set, but dug deep to seal his place in the last eight, where he will meet Juan Carlos Ferrero, who beat Simone Vagnozzi 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4.

Elsewhere, sixth seed Jurgen Melzer extended his impressive clay court season with a 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2 victory over Albert Montanes, Feliciano Lopez advanced in straight sets 6-4 7-6(5) against Kei Nishikori, and Croatian Ivan Dodig saw off Milos Raonic 7-6(0) 4-6 6-3.

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