Rafael Nadal seals last eight place in Paris with 900th win

Rafael Nadal serves during his fourth round win against Maximilian Marterer of Germany. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

With a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win against up-and-coming German player Maximilian Marterer, Nadal moved into the quarter-finals and above Jimmy Connors on the all-time list of match-winners at majors.

Connors won 233. Nadal has 234 and only Novak Djokovic, with 244 Grand Slam wins, and Roger Federer, with 332, are ahead of him.

But in his chase for a record-extending 11th title at Roland Garros, the only numbers Nadal seems to be keeping close track of are those up on the scoreboard. It had, for example, seemingly escaped him that in beating Marterer, a 22-year-old with a promising game, Nadal also notched up his 900th career win on tour.

Although such numbers might not be foremost in Nadal’s mind, they are gauges to the impressive longevity and winning consistency of the Spaniard who turned 32 on Sunday.

“I don’t feel myself old. But I am 32 and I am here since around 2003, so it’s a long way, a lot of years. I started very young,” he said. “Being honest, I am enjoying the day by day on the tour and I hope to keep doing this for a while.”

Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman, the 11th seed, in the last eight. “Today was an important test. I am in quarter-finals. And the biggest test now is the next round,” he added. “I just worry about try to be at 100 per cent for the next day that I have to play.

“And I know if I make that happen, if I’m able to play with my highest intensity and with the right level, [it] will be always a tough match, but I really believe that I can have my chances to keep going.”

Nadal’s next opponent, Diego Schwartzman, of Argentina, will be playing his first Roland Garros quarter-final. It will be Nadal’s 12th.

The only other player with that many in the professional era is Djokovic, who plays his 12th quarter-final against Marco Cecchinato of Italy.

Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic, both former US Open champions, completed the quarter-final line-up with wins.

Marterer fought, for all the good it did him against Nadal. A left-hander like the Spaniard but ranked 69 spots below the No 1, the German’s first French Open, and only his third major, has shown he has the tennis to play many more. On Court Philippe Chatrier where Nadal has triumphed so often, he broke the defending champion in the first game, with Nadal looking more like the nervy debutant, serving a double fault at 15-40. But Rafa’s Law – the unwritten logic that he is practically unbeatable on the red clay in Paris – quickly prevailed.

Like so many other players down the years since Nadal’s first title in 2005, Marterer soon found himself back in the press centre, explaining to reporters what it’s like to be on the receiving end. “You know, if he hits a forehand like, yeah, really heavy, it’s of course something different compared to any other opponent you have during the year,” he said. “The better guy won.”