PARIS – Rafael Nadal took another step closer to a 10th French Open with a ruthless 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili on Friday.
Fourth seed Nadal coasted to the most one-sided win of his Roland Garros career as his 63rd-ranked opponent, playing his first match on Philippe Chatrier Court, was struck down by stage fright.
It was the 100th best-of-five set match on clay that Nadal had played in his career.
His record now stands at 98-2 with his only two losses coming at Roland Garros.
"Perfection? I don't know about that," said Nadal.
Basilashvili, 25, hit just five winners and committed 34 unforced errors in his 90-minute horror show.
Nadal, who turns 31 on Saturday, will meet fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the quarter-finals.
Other men's singles results:
Milos Raonic (CAN x5) bt Guillermo García-López (ESP) 6-1, 1-0 – retired
Pablo Carreño-Busta (ESP x20) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x11) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x17) bt Jirí Veselý (CZE) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Horacio Zeballos (ARG) bt David Goffin (BEL x10) 4-5 – retired