Nadal stays on track in Paris, but Zverev knocked out by Italian teen

Rafael Nadal defeated American qualifier Sebastian Korda 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the 14th time on Sunday, staying comfortably on course for a 13th French Open title and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam crown.

Second seed Nadal racked up his 97th win at the tournament against just two defeats since his title-winning debut in 2005.

He goes on to face Italian teenager Jannik Sinner who defeated sixth seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday to become the youngest men’s Grand Slam quarter-finalist since Novak Djokovic in Paris in 2006. Sinner, aged 19 years and 56 days, won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

The match will be Nadal’s 42nd career appearance in the last eight of a Grand Slam.

Korda, the world number 213 and son of 1998 Australian Open champion and 1992 Roland Garros runner-up Petr Korda, never really recovered from slipping quickly to a 5-0 deficit in the first set.

The 20-year-old, who was so in awe of Nadal when he was growing up that he named his cat after the Spaniard, had the consolation of breaking serve once in the third set.

However, it was a brief respite as 34-year-old Nadal swept into the last eight without dropping a set and with his opponent left to rue 48 unforced errors on a chilly, blustery day in the French capital.

“It was a good performance and I am happy with that,” said Nadal. “But Sebastian will be a great player in the future, it’s impressive to see him hit the ball so well.”

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev said he “should not have played” after his last 16 loss to Italian teenager Jannik Sinner and complained of feeling “completely sick”.

The sixth seed summoned the doctor to ask for a cold spray during the first set of a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss and later claimed he had a fever.

Zverev, 23, was up to date with his tournament-mandated Covid-19 tests, the French tennis federation (FFT) said in a statement. His last one was on September 29.

However, the FFT added that the German “did not consult the tournament doctors before his match”.

The US Open runner-up raised questions over whether he should have been allowed to play when he told reporters he had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius following his win over Marco Cecchinato on Friday.

“I am completely sick after the match with Cecchinato in the night. I can’t really breathe, as you can hear by my voice,” Zverev said after his Roland Garros exit.

“I had fever, you know, as well. Yeah, I’m not in the best physical state,” said Zverev, who made 47 unforced errors and just 20 winners.

“To be honest, I warmed up today. I shouldn’t have played. But I was hoping maybe for a three-set win or something like that.”

Zverev was criticised in the summer after he was spotted partying despite vowing to self-isolate following Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour, during which a number of players tested positive for coronavirus.

The FFT said Zverev’s previous coronavirus test was negative. The result was received on September 30.

“Today (Sunday) he received a reminder for his next test, to be carried out within five days of the previous results,” the FFT added.

Sinner became the youngest men’s Grand Slam quarter-finalist since Novak Djokovic in Paris in 2006.

Sinner, aged 19 years and 56 days, set up a showdown with 12-time champion Rafael Nadal.

He is the first player to reach the last eight on his Roland Garros debut since Nadal lifted the trophy in 2005.

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