Rafael Nadal wins to set up 'difficult' Thiem quarter-final clash in Monaco

Rafael Nadal PicAFPWorld number one Rafael Nadal cruised to a 63 62 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov on Thursday to set up a difficult Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinal against Dominic Thiem after the Austrian stunned Novak Djokovic Nadal needs to win an 11th Monte Carlo title to stay clear of Roger Federer at the top of the world rankings and the 16time Grand Slam champion made short work of Khachanov Khachanov held his own at times in the opening set but Nadal moved through the gears and claimed his second comfortable victory of the week after his opening win over Aljaz BedeneA good victory Straight sets against a difficult opponent Thats the real thing said Nadal Thiem should provide a sterner test in the last eight after the fifth seed came from a set down to beat Djokovic Nadal has lost twice to Thiem on clay but produced a dominant display in the French Open semifinals last year en route to his 10th Roland Garros title Its going to be a difficult match the 31yearold Nadal added He is a player that plays so good in every surface but especially on clay He hits the ball hardI cant let him play from good positions because he has lot of power I need to play aggressive with a higher intensity than him then well see Nadal wasted no time in making his presence felt on Thursday breaking to love in the second game as Khachanov felt the brunt of the Spaniards forehand But the bighitting Russian grew into the match and broke back as Nadal sent a backhand spinning wide That was as good as it got though for Khachanov as Nadal quickly restored his twogame cushion and served out the opening set to love Nadal is bidding for a record 31st Masters title and 24th on clay and he was far too good for his 21yearold opponent in the second setThiem stuns DjokovicThiem a twotime French Open semifinalist was the better player for much of his match against Djokovic and won 67 27 62 63 The Austrian says he will take confidence from his previous wins against Nadal into Fridays clash Its a way better feeling if you go against him and know that youve beaten him already on this surface said the 24yearold Thiem But its the ultimate challenge for everybody to play against him I have to raise my level again I think Im able to do that Former world number one Djokovic has still not reached a quarterfinal since Wimbledon last July after struggling with a right elbow injuryThe 12time Grand Slam champion now ranked 13 had said he was painfree in Monte Carlo for the first time in two years but Thiem backed up his French Open quarterfinal win over the Serbian from last year with another impressive victory Earlier on Thursday third seed Alexander Zverev came through a threeset tussle with fellow German JanLennard Struff 64 46 64 But Frenchman Richard Gasquet denied Zverev a meeting with his older brother Mischa by seeing off the serveandvolleyer 62 75 to claim his 500th win on the ATP Tour Belgian sixth seed David Goffin held off a late fightback from Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the last eight with a 64 75 win in a match that saw the Spaniard accidentally hit a ball boy with the ballBautista Agut was given a code violation and later fined 2500 euros 3085 for unsportsmanlike conduct Goffin will play fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the semifinals in a repeat of last years ATP Tour Finals final after the Bulgarian came back from a set and a break down to beat Germanys Philipp Kohlschreiber 46 63 64 Second seed Marin Cilic is also into the last eight after Milos Raonic pulled out with a right knee injury before their thirdround match on Thursday Croatias Cilic will take on Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals after the Japanese continued his return to form by beating Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi 60 26 63Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever