Rafael Nadal marches into Paris Masters quarters

World number one Rafael Nadal continued his quest to clinch his first Rolex Paris Masters title as he swept aside Uruguayan opponent Pablo Cuevas to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament here on Friday.

The Spaniard maestro, who recently secured the year-end number one spot in the ATP rankings for the fourth time, rebounded strongly from a second-set down to register a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Cuevas that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Nadal will now open a new ATP head-to-head series when he locks horns with qualifier Filip Krajinovic of Serbia for the first time in the last-four clash of the men's singles event.

Earlier, Nadal's second-round triumph over Hyeon Chung of South Korea had ensured that he would end 2017 as world number one.

It should be noted that Nadal has earned his 18th win in his past 19 matches, thus gaining a winning momentum ahead of the ATP Finals, another event in which he would look to clinch his first title.

In the other quarter-finals, wildcard Julien Benneteau of France will take on Marin Cilic after comfortably beating David Goffin 6-3, 6-3 in their last-16 clash of the men's singles event.