Nadal crushes Lajovic to reach French Open quarters

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal relentlessly continued his quest for a record fifth consecutive French Open tennis title as he dismantled unseeded Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals here Monday.

The 27-year-old left-hander, also seeking a record ninth French Open crown, used only 93 minutes to devastate the Serb, reported Xinhua.

The Spaniard, who is obviously in awesome form, will play countryman David Ferrer in the quarterfinal in a repeat of the 2013 French Open final.

Nadal said he needs to play well to beat Ferrer.

"He's coming to the match with confidence and with confidence that he gave me the last time, so it is extra thing for me. It will be a tough one. I know to play against him and to have chances to win, I need to play very well," he said.

Fifth seed Ferrer beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 to set up the Spanish clash with Nadal.

The fifth seed, who lost in straight sets to Nadal in his maiden major final 12 months ago, needed two hours and 51 minutes to oust the South African and reach his 10th successive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"It was tough. I think first and second set I played very good, and I did not make too much mistakes," Ferrer said of the match.

He admitted it would be hard for him to beat Nadal.

"He's No. 1 in the world, in the race. Rafael is always the favorite and it is always difficult to beat him," he said.