Dream Madrid Open final still on the cards

A potentially memorable final showdown between clay court king Rafael Nadal and in-form world number two Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open moved a step closer last night as both players progressed through to the quarter-finals without any problems.

Top seed Nadal, who has won 35 successive matches on clay and is unbeaten on the surface since 2009, received a bye through to the last eight after his potentially dangerous third-round opponent Juan Martin Del Potro retired with a hip injury earlier in the day.