Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic ensured there were no surprises the day after Nadal’s loss at the Paris Masters by easing into the last eight of the competition.
Djokovic, chasing his seventh title in Paris, delivered another assured performance during the 6-4, 6-1 win over Karen Khachanov that extended his winning streak in tour-level matches to 11.
The Serbian will take on Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the semi-finals after the Italian ousted Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud 4-6 6-4 6-4 to advance to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Meanwhile, World number 1 Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble brushing aside the challenge of Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-3. The top seed set the tone early, dropping just two points on serve in the first set before fending off a brief fightback from the Bulgarian in the second to close out the match in one hour and 12 minutes.
The Spaniard will take on Holger Rune for a place in the semifinals after the Danish teenager beat Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5.
Joining Djokovic and Alcaraz in the Paris Masters quarterfinals is Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime who reached the last eight by winning his 15th consecutive match over French veteran Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-3.
Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas beat France’s Corentin Moute 6-3 7-6(3) to set a date with American Tommy Paul who followed up his win over Nadal with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta.
