Paris, June 4 : The 12th-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on a wet and windy Monday to reach the French Open quarterfinals for the third time—and might have been excused for hoping he doesn't have to play Rafael Nadal yet again.
Almagro's previous two trips to the round of eight at Roland Garros, in 2008 and 2010, both ended with losses to six-time champion Nadal, part of an 0-7 career mark against his countryman.
This year, Almagro's quarterfinal foe will be Nadal or No. 13 Juan Monaco of Argentina, who were scheduled to play their fourth-round match later Monday. Almagro is 4-2 against Monaco.
Almagro hasn't lost a set at this year's French Open.