Rafael Nadal reaches final eight at French Open and still hasn't lost a set

PARIS – Rafael Nadal celebrated his 31st birthday a day late as he blasted into the French Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 stroll over Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday.

The king of clay showed off the full range of his game against his Spanish compatriot as he steps up his bid for a 10th title at Roland Garros.

Nadal has kept a clean sheet, advancing into the last eight without losing a set — as he did in Paris in 2008 and 2010.

The fourth seed moved into his 11th Paris quarterfinal, tying Roger Federer's open era record.

"I played against a very good player, and I was able to win in straight sets with very positive result," Nadal said. "Probably I didn't play as well as I did the other day, but I still played well, I played some very good shots.

"I general terms, I played well.

"I'm in the quarters and I am healthy. That's the only important thing for me. The goal always is try your best every day and try to be through to the next round."

Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and this year's No. 2 seed, also won in straight sets, defeating 19th-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal and Djokovic are now one victory away from facing each other in the semifinals.

Nadal's quarterfinal opponent will be Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who needed 4 hours, 17 minutes to beat fifth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 8-6.

Carreno Busta reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal the hard way, wasting six match points.

Garbine Muguruza's title defense ended with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 loss to 13th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France.

"Sometimes," she added, "[fans] should be a little bit more respectful."

All four of the day's fourth-round matches pitted one woman who has won at least one major trophy (Muguruza, Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur) against a woman who has not. And each time, the less-accomplished player won. Add it all up, and it means that there will be a first-time major title winner at the end of the tournament.

About an hour after Muguruza's exit, seven-time major champion Williams lost to 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

"She had so many answers today," said Williams, who also lost to Bacsinszky in the fourth round a year ago.

Kuznetsova, who won the 2009 French Open and 2004 U.S. Open, was ousted by two-time major runner-up Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, while 2011 U.S. Open champion Stosur was eliminated by 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.