Paris: Rafael Nadal improved his record at Roland Garros to 42-1, beating Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open.
The five-time champion was not troubled on Court Philippe Chatrier and the win kept him on course to equal Bjorn Borg's record of six titles on the Parisian clay.
"I have improved since the tournament started," said Nadal, who was pushed to five sets in the first round. "I'm able to play better and I'm going to continue on this path."
Novak Djokovic also had a successful day, even though he wasn't scheduled to play. The second-seeded Serb reached the semifinals of the tournament — where he could meet Roger Federer — when quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini withdrew because of injury.
"Walkover from Fognini. Bad luck for him, hope he recovers fast. Today i get to enjoy Paris in a different way :-)" Djokovic wrote on Twitter.
Australian Open runner-up Li Na also advanced on Monday. The sixth-seeded Chinese player reached the quarterfinals by beating No. 9 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Nadal won four straight titles at the French Open before losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. He will face Soderling in the quarterfinals this year after the fifth-seeded Swede defeated Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
"For me, it will be a tough match," Nadal said minutes before Soderling completed his victory. "He's played two finals here at Roland Garros, so he knows what this means. He's got to play his best tennis."
Federer won the 2009 French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, but Nadal returned to win his fifth title in 2010.
Djokovic, who will not be credited with a victory because Fognini withdrew, is after his own records.
If he wins his semifinal match, he would equal John McEnroe's Open era record of 42-0 for the best start to a tennis season and clinch the No. 1 ranking. With three more wins, the second-seeded Serb will match the record of 46 straight wins set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
The two-time Australian Open champion has never won the title at Roland Garros, but he beat Nadal in two clay-court finals leading up to the French Open.
Fognini, who injured a muscle in his left leg while beating Albert Montanes on Sunday, announced on Monday that he would not be able to play Djokovic, who is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches overall.
"It's better for him," Nadal said of Djokovic's advancement. "He is going to really rest ahead of his semifinal."
Federer will have to beat Gael Monfils to advance to the semifinals. The ninth-seeded Frenchman defeated David Ferrer 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6 in a match that stretched over two days.
"Now I need to recover and at some point I'll stop losing against this Swiss," said Monfils, who has lost five of his six matches against Federer.
Juan Ignacio Chela also reached the quarterfinals. The unseeded Argentine, the only non-European left in the men's draw, beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Li became the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros after her victory over Kvitova. She will next face No. 4 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-2, 6-3.
"I was really in trouble," Li said about trailing 3-0 in the third set. "I didn't believe I could come back, because she has a huge big serve. But I was okay. She had just broken once."
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