French Open 2018: Rafael Nadal beats Maximilian Marterer to reach quarter; Diego Schwartzman stuns Kevin Anderson

Paris: Rafael Nadal continued his birthday celebrations by moving into the French Open quarter-finals on Monday, beating a determined Maximilian Marterer 6-3 6-2 7-6(4). Nadal, who turned 32 on Sunday, fired 39 winners as he completed the victory in two hours and 30 minutes to set up a match with Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who had earlier beaten Kevin Anderson. [caption id=“attachment_4495689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his fourth-round match against Maximilian Marterer. Reuters[/caption] After roaring to a two-set lead, Nadal faced a stern test in the third with Marterer leading 3-1 at one point after breaking the Spaniard. The German battled for every point in a bid to drag himself back into the contest. Nadal, however, maintained composure in the decisive moments of the match to seal victory on his second match point as Marterer’s backhand went long. Argentinian Diego Schwartzman staged a thrilling comeback from two sets down to stun sixth seed Kevin Anderson and reach the French Open quarter-finals for the first time. The 11th seed was totally outplayed in the first two sets but twice broke Anderson when the South African was serving for the match en route to a 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 victory. The 25-year-old, who also reached the quarter-finals at last year’s US Open, will face 10-time champion Nadal for a last-four place. World No 7 Anderson, who was looking to become the first South African man to make the last eight since Cliff Drysdale 51 years ago, has now lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros on four occasions. With inputs from AFP and Reuters