Rafael Nadal continued his march towards a record-extending 12th French Open title by steamrolling a sorry Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1 6-3 to book his place in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
The second seed, who now has a 91-2 win-loss record at the claycourt Grand Slam, was barely challenged by the seventh-seeded Nishikori as he set up a mouthwartering last four meeting with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Playing on the back of two consecutive five-set matches, Nishikori never managed to mount any form of a challenge and was easily wiped off court by Nadal.
There was a sense of inevitability when Nadal and Nishikori stepped onto Philippe Chatrier Court.
Not only did Nadal have the numbers in his favour, but Nishikori’s game had failed to catch fire since the beginning of the tournament.
Considering Nishikori had a 0-4 win-loss record against Nadal on clay, his chances of narrowing that run on Tuesday were slim — and so it proved to be.
Despite his usual early nerves, the Spaniard raced through the opening set. Nishikori broke back for 1-1 but that effort proved to be his undoing as Nadal won the remaining five games to lead two sets to love.
After a quick check on his right arm by the physiotherapist, Nishikori was declared fit to continue and Nadal showed no mercy.
The match was interrupted at 4-2 because of a fast approaching thunderstorm, but the hour-long delay failed to hand Nishikori a lifeline.
Upon resumption, Nadal swiftly ended Nishikori’s nightmare ordeal, wrapping it up on the first match point.
