Nadal To Face Soderling In French Open Quarterfinals

By James Waterson
Photo Credit: CLIVE BRUNSKILL/AFP/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during the men's singles round four match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Ivan Lubicic of Croatia on day nine of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
(May 30, 2011) World No. 1 Rafael Nadal took one step closer to defending his Roland Garros title after he dismissed Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round of the French Open Monday.

Nadal continued the effective play that saw him through the first three rounds; he had a high first-serve percentage at 68 percent and won 73.5 percent of all points on serve.

He also pressured Ljubicic on his return games, winning 47 percent of all return points and breaking him six times.

Although Nadal has been pushed this tournament, he said the more he is on the court the better he feels about his game.

"I have improved since the tournament started," Nadal said to the Associated Press. "I'm able to play better and I'm going to continue on this path."

Nadal’s next opponent is Robin Soderling, the only man who has beaten him at Roland Garros in his career.

Soderling defeated Gilles Simon in his fourth-round match 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (5) Monday.

Nadal has a 5-2 record against Soderling, and they have split their matches at the French Open.

Sodelring beat Nadal in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, and Nadal avenged that loss in the 2010 final.

Juan Ignacio Chela joined Nadal in the quarterfinals after he defeated 120th-ranked Alejandro Falla 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Falla played the more aggressive match, hitting 65 winners to 61 unforced errors, compared to Chela’s 38 winners to 59 unforced errors.

Falla and Chela had almost the same number of break points – 20 and 19, respectively – with Chela winning 10 and Falla winning nine.

That may have made the difference in a match that was decided by a nine point difference.

This was Chela’s second fifth-set match of the tournament. He also outlasted Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the second round.

He’ll play the winner between Andy Murray and Viktor Troicki. Either man will be a tough match for Chela because he has a losing record against both. Murray has a 7-1 advantage against him, while Troicki won their only match-up at the 2011 Medibank International in straight sets.

Keep checking www.TennisNow.com throughout the day and throughout the tournament for more results and analysis, and visit our live scores page to see the action as it unfolds.