Nadal cruises into quarter-finals

(REUTERS)

Rafael Nadal beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-3, 6-1 yesterday to set up a quarter-final against Gaël Monfils at the Barcelona Open. Giraldo looked set to provide a tough challenge when he broke the Spaniard's serve to level at 3-3 in the first set. But the five-time champion broke right back and then dominated the rest of the match on his favourite clay surface.

Nadal, who improved his record in Barcelona to 28-1, will face the seventh-seeded Monfils after he beat fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6. "You have to remember that [Monfils] is a player who has made it to the semi-finals of Roland Garros, he's in the top 10," said Nadal. "I imagine that he will come out aggressive, so I will have to make him play as far back as possible."