Rafael Nadal celebrated his 27th birthday with an innocent smile on his face after demolishing Japanese sensation Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday.
In the cusp of another epic run towards a record eighth French Open title, the 27-year-old Mallorcan is expected to unleash his 'bad' side, at least on the court, as he faces Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka for a place in the semifinal at Roland Garros.
Nadal cemented his status as the man-to-beat in the 2013 French Open with a near flawless performance against one of the most promising faces in tennis today: Nishikori.
Nishikori, who boasts career wins against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, only won eight games against Nadal but engaged on several toe-to-toe rallies with the Spaniard during the match.
In the end, Nadal was just too strong and crafty for Nishikori to handle on clay as he booked his first straight set victory in the tourney after dropping at least a set in his previous three matches.
Nadal will be confronted by a familiar face in the quarterfinal round in Wawrinka, who outlasted Richard Gasquet 6-7(5) 4-6 6-4 7-5 8-6 in a four-hour fourth round marathon.
In the wake of Federer's stunning quarterfinal loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Wawrinka becomes the last standing Swiss in the clay-court Grand Slam tourney and he apparently has no plans of following the footstep of his fallen compatriot.
But the odds and statistics are simply against Wawrinka in this match. Nadal is undefeated in nine career matches against the Swiss with his last win--a straight set victory--taking place at the Madrid Master.
Throwing statistics and records out of the window, Nadal is still the huge favorite to win this match simply because his skills are way more superior than Wawrinka, even while he possesses a heart to withstand almost all kind of crisis on the court.
Prediction: Nadal in staraight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
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