Rafael Nadal charged into the French Open last 16 on Friday and took another confident stride towards equalling Roger Federer’s record of 20 major titles while Simona Halep and Dominic Thiem made surprisingly short work of tricky opponents.
The 12-time Roland Garros champion dispatched Italian world number 74 Stefano Travaglia 6-1, 6-4, 6-0 in just 95 minutes, notching his 96th victory at the tournament.
Nadal next faces 213th-ranked American qualifier Sebastian Korda, the son of 1998 Australian Open champion and 1992 French Open runner-up Petr Korda, for a quarter-final spot.
“I think today I played the best match this year at Roland Garros,” said Nadal, now 96-2 at the French Open in his 16th appearance.