PARIS – Seventh seed Marin Cilic established himself as a contender for the French Open title after sweeping past Feliciano Lopez 6-1 6-3 6-3 to reach the last 16 without having dropped a set on Saturday.
The 2014 US Open winner, who warmed up for the year's second grand slam by capturing his first claycourt title in five years in Istanbul last month, delivered a near-perfect performance to equal his best-ever showing in Paris.
He whipped 31 winners past the helpless Spaniard, who at 35 was the oldest player left in the draw and who needed repeated medical treatments for neck problems.
The 28-year-old Croatian completed his win with his eighth ace to set up a round of 16 clash with either Britain's Kyle Edmund or Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
Anderson pulled off a major victory in the previous round when he got the better of controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios.