French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Date: 23 May-6 June
Coverage: Live video streamed from 1000 BST on BBC Sport website (UK only) and BBC red button; commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra; also live on Eurosport; text commentary on BBC Sport website Details of BBC coverage

Highlights - Nadal into last eight

Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to reclaiming his French Open title with a 6-2 7-5 6-4 win over rising Brazilian star Thomaz Bellucci.

Bellucci, 22, broke the world number two's serve four times but could not find the consistency to mount a serious challenge against the Spaniard.

Nadal will face compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who defeated another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, in the last eight.

Novak Djokovic earlier booked a quarter-final against Jurgen Melzer.

Djokovic, the third seed, overcame a sloppy second set to beat unseeded American Robby Ginepri 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2 while Melzer ended the run of Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili with a 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-1 6-4 win.

Almagro saw off a jaded Verdasco 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes in the last men's match of the day.

In beating Bellucci, Nadal went one step further at Roland Garros than he managed last year when he was stunned by Robin Soderling in the last 16, his first ever defeat in five visits.

"I played probably my best match today in the tournament," he said.

"My objectives are still very high and very demanding but all matches are complicated.

"All the players are difficult to play against and It's very important for me to do well considering what's happened to me in the past months.

"I couldn't win last year, so it was very difficult for me. For 11 months now I've not really won that many matches. I know what it means and how important it is to win a tournament."

Belluccci, in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, never really threatened to match Soderling's feat, but he showed enough to justify renowned coach Brad Gilbert's assertion that he is a potential top-10 player.

In each set, the Brazilian number one recovered a break, but while he hit some crowd-pleasing winners, the 22-year-old also threw in a number of untimely errors, allowing Nadal to ease through.

Djokovic was less than comfortable against Ginepri, who stunned former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in a surprise run to the fourth round.

The world number three again struggled on serve, as he has done throughout the tournament, and lost his way completely in the second set.

However, the Serb eventually settled and blasted his way through the next two sets with a dazzling variety of groundstrokes to come through in four sets.

"I'm really not a morning person, so it took a lot of time for me to get into the rhythm and warm up basically for the match," explained Djokovic.

The world number three suffers badly with hay fever and appeared to struggle for air at times, but he insisted: "I always have these kind of problems. I was just trying to get as much as energy and air for the next point.

"Generally looking, my physical feeling is right now it's good, which is a positive fact for upcoming challenges."

Next up for Djokovic is 29-year-old Melzer, the oldest man left in the draw.

"To be the oldest player is not a special feeling," said the 22nd seed, who had not gone beyond the third round of a Grand Slam in 31 appearance before arriving at Roland Garros.

"Reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, that's a special feeling.

"It took such a long time to get here. It still feels great, no matter how old you are."

Melzer is the first Austrian to reach the quarter-finals in Paris since former champion Thomas Muster in 1998.

"I think Thomas Muster was a role model for every tennis player," said Melzer.

"The way he was working, you have to have him as an idol. Playing-wise, I mean, we are like day and night, so of course I was not imitating his style, because I just have a different game. But still, as an athlete, he was an idol."

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