Nadal reaches last eight as Djokovic gets semi-final pass

Five-time champion Rafael Nadal reached the French Open last eight yesterday as title rival Novak Djokovic enjoyed a major psychological boost when he was handed a free pass into the semi-finals.

Top seed Nadal enjoyed a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over veteran Ivan Ljubicic and will next face Roland Garros bogeyman Robin Soderling, the only man to have beaten the Spaniard in Paris in 43 matches.

Fifth seed Soderling, who has reached the last two finals, losing to Roger Federer in 2009 and Nadal in 2010, beat French 18th seed Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3, 7-6.

Nadal, bidding for a sixth French Open title to take him level with Bjorn Borg, has looked a shadow of his usual self in Paris, shaken by the form of Djokovic, who could take his title and number one spot before the week is out.

His mood would not have been improved by knowing that the Serbian second seed was excused quarter-final duty when scheduled opponent Fabio Fognini, of Italy, withdrew with a torn left thigh muscle, yesterday.

“There was a lot of wind today, which made it very awkward,” said Nadal, before dismissing suggestions that Djokovic, who will not play until Friday, might lose the rhythm that has brought him 41 successive wins this year.

Soderling, who needed a fifth match point to defeat Simon for the sixth time in eight meetings, said he feels inspired every time he comes back to Paris.

“I have good memories of this tournament. I have won a lot of great matches here and I get a great feeling every time I come back,” said the Swede, who famously defeated Nadal in the fourth round in 2009.

French ninth seed Gael Monfils set up a last-eight clash with third seed Federer after defeating Spain’s David Ferrer, the seventh seed, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6.

Monfils had led by two sets to one when the tie was suspended on Sunday night and despite squandering three match points in the ninth and 11th games of the decider yesterday, the 24-year-old eventually held his nerve.

Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela shattered Alejandro Falla’s dreams of becoming the first Colombian man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final with a 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 win.

He will face either Andy Murray or Serbia’s Victor Troicki (match suspended last night at two sets all) for a place in the semi-finals.

Azarenka through

In the women’s event, fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, and Chinese sixth seed Li Na set up a French Open quarter-final showdown yesterday, with both women bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time.

Azarenka, the top-seeded player left in the women’s draw after Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva were eliminated, defeated Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

She will now face Li, who had earlier become the first player from China to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals with a disjointed 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 defeat of 21-year-old Czech ninth seed Petra Kvitova.

Maria Sharapova, the seventh seed, beat Polish 13th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6, 7-5 to earn the right to face German 15th seed Andrea Petkovic who ousted Russian number 25 seed Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.