French Open:Rafael Nadal powered past Lleyton Hewitt and into the French Open quarter-finals at Roland Garros today.
The claycourt master, going for his third successive win in the Paris slam, cruised into a 4-0 lead in the first set as Hewitt had no answer to the second seed.
The next three games went with serve, and Nadal went 40-0 up when serving for the set, only for Hewitt to win five points in a row to get a break back.
The set was gone - Nadal broke Hewitt in the next to win it 6-3, but there was some hope the tenacious Australian could compete for the remainder of the match.
It wasn't to be. Nadal broke Hewitt twice in the next set without having to move out of second gear and took it 6-1 inside just 33 minutes.
Hewitt was more competitive in the third set as the first 10 games went with serve, before both players broke each others serve in the 11th and 12th games to force a tie-break.
Nadal edged the breaker 7-5 as Hewitt could only find the net with his final shot.
Nadal, yet to drop a set in the tournament, will play Spanish compatriot Carlos Moya in the quarter-finals after he beat Jonas Bjorkman in straight sets.
The Spanish 23rd seed proved too good for the Swede who failed to cope with his opponent's energy around the court, and Moya sailed into the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 7-5 victory.
In the opening set Bjorkman raced into a 3-0 lead, and looked sure to go a set in front as the next four games went with serve.
However, with the Swede serving for the set at 5-3, Moya stepped up his game and broke back to love, before holding his serve and breaking again to serve for the set himself at 6-5.
Now it was Bjorkman's turn to break back to love and the set had to be settled in a tie-break that Moya won 7-5.
The first five games went with serve in the next before Moya broke the Swede twice in a row to roar into a two set lead by virtue of a 6-2 second set win.
The third set went much the same way as the first as the first three games went with serve before Moya broke to make it 3-1.
Bjorkman immediately hit back this time, and the next five games went with serve until the Swede had to serve to stay in the match at 5-6.
He failed as Moya stepped up his game once more to run out a straight sets victor.
Sixth seed Novak Djokovic also beat Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in their fourth round clash.
Djokovic proved too good for his Spanish opponent and ran out a 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-1) winner on the Phillipe Chatrier court inside two hours and 45 minutes.
The early exchanges of the first set were tense with both players surviving break points in their opening service games, before Djokovic broke in the fourth game to go 3-1 up.
That proved to be decisive as both players held serve from there on in, Djokovic winning the set with a powerful service game he won to love.
The first set showcased the glorious backhand of Djokovic and the powerful forehand winners of Verdasco, but it was the former that was more evident in the second set as the Serbian raced into a 4-0 lead.
The next three games went with serve before Verdasco pulled one of the breaks back to make it 5-3.
However, Djokovic reacted well to losing his serve for the first time in the match and broke back immediately to take the second set 6-3.
What proved to be the final set was an attritional affair, as Djokovic went off the boil - but Verdasco couldn't capitalise despite having four break points.
Many games went to deuce and the set lasted 79 minutes, and was eventually settled in a tie-break as Djokovic ran out a 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-1) winner.
Djokovic will play Igor Andreev in the quarter-finals after he beat 16th seed Marcos Bagdahtis.
The Russian looked to have it all to do as Baghdatis broke his serve twice on the way to the first set 6-2.
However, Andreev quickly got back into the match by winning the second set 6-1, and he won seven games on the spin to open up a 3-0 lead in the third.
In a topsy-turvy set, Baghdatis won three games in a row to level the scores, before Andreev again won three on the trot to take the third set 6-3.
Andreev was well on top by now, and although the first four games of the fourth set went with serve it was no surprise when he broke the Cypriot's serve in the fifth game to go 3-2 and a break up.
It went with serve from then on as Andreev served out to win the match 2-6 6-1 6-3 6-4.