Nadal finds his form to power to quarter-final

Rafael Nadal won 17 games in a row to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open — and then apologised to his opponent for the one-sided nature of the scoreline.

The defending champion’s 6-2 6-0 6-0 victory over Juan Monaco meant he has lost only 19 games in his first four matches, the fewest at Roland Garros since Guillermo Vilas in 1982.

Nadal said: “He started the match playing aggressive, playing good shots. In my opinion, he was unlucky in the first set. That’s my feeling, 6-2 was too much. Later, I was very happy the way I played. I feel very sorry for him.”