London, July 8:
Rafael Nadal reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the seventh time on Monday as the evergreen 30-somethings of men’s tennis threatened to take a stranglehold at the All England Club.
Third seed Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, swept to an easy 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over outclassed Joao Sousa of Portugal.
He will next play either Sam Querrey or Tennys Sandgren in what will be his 39th appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final.
The 33-year-old Spaniard is chasing his 19th title at the majors, which would put him just one behind the all-time record of 20 held by Roger Federer — his potential opponent in the semi-finals.
“It was a good, solid match. It’s true that the serve probably didn’t work as good as two days ago,” said Nadal, who had been equally ruthless in the third round against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when he lost just seven games.
“Happy to be where I am and the body is holding well, playing some good tennis — and straight sets helps.” Also joining Nadal in the last-eight was his compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut who reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final and second at the majors this year when he defeated France’s Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. (Agencies)
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