He set up the foundation for victory by winning nine straight games from 1-1 in the first set to 4-0 in the second set against Garcia-Lopez, the 34-year-old world number 69. However, Nadal shrugged off his 40-set landmark. "This record doesn't matter but if I keep winning sets it will mean that I keep winning matches. I don't think I can win all the sets from here to Roland Garros," said 31-year-old Nadal, who will seek to win an 11th French Open in Paris at the conclusion of the clay-court season in June.Rafa Nadal on clay in 2018 update
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 26, 2018
6-2
6-2
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6-1
6-4
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6-0
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6-4
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6-3 pic.twitter.com/phKL3K2laX
10-time champion Rafael Nadal sweeps into the Barcelona quarter-finals.
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) April 26, 2018
40 straight sets won on clay ✅
9-0 on red dirt in 2018 ✅
Read More ▶️: https://t.co/jeqQqYmyYi pic.twitter.com/CUsqbfCUT9
It’s now 40 sets in a row and 398 career wins on clay for @RafaelNadal... https://t.co/vHBo8lVoqK
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) April 26, 2018
He also warned of the dangers posed by Klizan, a fellow left-hander who defeated him in Beijing in 2014. "He has won three matches in the tournament so far, he has the ability to play at a very high level and can be a dangerous player." Second seed Grigor Dimitrov had a far tougher afternoon, needing to save two match points to beat Tunisia's Malek Jaziri 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8) in a match which lasted 10 minutes short of three hours.The King of Clay does it again ?
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 26, 2018
Rafael Nadal eased into the Barcelona Open quarter-finals today ? https://t.co/B9D4xwiCtN pic.twitter.com/FmJmoxgyOm
Dimitrov will next play fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who saved three match points to defeat French 11th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) in two hours and seven minutes. Carreno Busta wrapped up victory on his fifth match point. Third seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria, the runner-up to Nadal in Barcelona last year, reached the last eight with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over Slovakian lucky loser Jozef Kovalik. Thiem will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece who saw off Spanish 10th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-5. Belgian fourth seed David Goffin reached the last eight for the first time with a 2-6, 7-6 (2/7), 6-0 victory over Karen Khachanov, avenging his defeat at the hands of the Russian at the same stage 12 months ago. On Friday, Goffin will tackle Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Spanish countryman and recent Marrakech clay-court champion Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-1.Wait for it... ⏱
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) April 25, 2018
?️: @tennistv pic.twitter.com/jy3zSPH8UP