Juan Martin del Potro fired a menacing warning to those already writing Rafael Nadal’s name on the French Open trophy with a bludgeoning 7-5 6-4 6-1 third-round defeat of Spanish claycourter Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday.
The seemingly unstoppable Nadal might be the red-hot favourite to claim an 11th title at Roland Garros next weekend but Argentine powerhouse Del Potro could prove a significant obstacle in the semi-finals.
The way the fifth seed overwhelmed Ramos-Vinolas on Court Philippe Chatrier with his serve and forehand working like clockwork will not have gone unnoticed in the Nadal camp.
“I think I was a bit lucky in the first set because Albert made me run a lot, but I had control of the match in the end and played well in the right moments,” Del Potro said.
“I’m playing better every day. Claycourt is not my favourite but I’m enjoying playing here.”
He will face American John Isner on Monday and says he feels strong enough to keep going having suffered an injury scare in the build-up to the French Open.
Nadal himself was in outstanding form on Saturday and the 10-time champion at Roland Garros won the first 12 points against Richard Gasquet.
Nadal went on to register a 6-3 6-2 6-2 third-round victory that was only his latest declaration of dominance on this surface and at this Grand Slam tournament.
“Once he’s ahead,” Gasquet lamented, “it becomes impossible.”
The No. 1-ranked Nadal has won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros; the last loss was against Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals.
He has won 34 completed sets in a row, too, which eclipsed his own previous best of 32 and now stands second in French Open history to Bjorn Borg’s 41 from 1979-81.
Nadal now meets 70th-ranked Maximilian Marterer, a 22-year-old German who will be appearing in the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time.
“He’s a player that has a good potential. He’s a player that has a good serve, good forehand. He hits the ball with big topspin,” Nadal said of Marterer.
“He has power, so he’s a dangerous opponent. He’s playing well. He won very easy today, no?”
With about a week to go, Nadal is looking more and more like the absolute favourite. Of the 16 men left, only he and Diego Schwartzman have yet to drop a set.
Alexander Zverev already has played a pair of five-setters. Novak Djokovic has been shaky at times, too. The only man to beat Nadal on clay this season, Dominic Thiem, couldn’t take him on again until the final.
French No.1 Lucas Pouille was also sent packing after going down in straight sets, albeit having put up more of a fight than Gasquet, against hard-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert was the last man standing on Saturday but he was comprehensively beaten by ninth-seeded American John Isner 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 7-6 (7/4).
It is the first time since 2007 that there will be no French man in the fourth round competing for the Musketeers Cup, which was last lifted by a local player in 1983 when Yannick Noah beat Mats Wilander.
