Unstoppable Nadal marches past Marterer

Reuters: Maximilian Marterer probably wondered what all the fuss was about when, two games into his first match against the best clay court player ever yesterday (4 June), he led French Open champion Rafael Nadal 2-0 on the Spaniard’s favourite patch of red dirt.

The German youngster quickly discovered just what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a pummelling by the veteran though, as Nadal swept to a 6-3 6-2 7-6(4) victory to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for a 12th time.

In doing so, 10-times champion Nadal extended his current streak of consecutive completed sets won at Roland Garros to 37.

Only Bjorn Borg (41) has a longer streak and the way Nadal, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, is devouring the opposition it is hard to see who can stop him.

Having racked up his 900th Tour win, Nadal will now take aim at regular practise partner Diego Schwartzman after the gritty Argentine 11th seed came from two sets down to beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.