His spot atop the rankings is safe now until at least after Australian Open 2018, and while some bragging rights exist in extending that reign, Grand Slam titles are where it’s really at for Rafael Nadal.
After a near four-hour grind against the free-swinging, big-spirited Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Sunday, the Spaniard kept those hopes alive, too.
Nadal’s 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 victory was his 15th match in a row at the majors against a player ranked outside the top 25.
Stan Wawrinka was the most recent in the Roland Garros 2017 final.
No.6 Marin Cilic will be the next when the pair square off for a semifinal berth on Tuesday, after the Croatian ousted 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta earlier in the day.
For Nadal, it matters not who he faces, but that he does enough on the day to get there.
On Sunday, he shrugged off a second-set shocker – the first set of this year’s tournament he had dropped – to book a 10th Melbourne Park quarterfinal.
“Was a good test, [but] at the same time … I prefer to win in two hours than in four,” Nadal said.
“But being honest, too, moments like this helps to be more confident in yourself, in your body.
“And now we start the second week. Quarterfinals already. Now is the moment to make a step forward, to play again more aggressive. I know I’m gonna have a tough opponent in front now, Cilic.”
The 2009 Melbourne champion knew well what to expect when he faced his mate Schwartzman, “the complete player” he had never lost to in three prior clashes.
But on Sunday, it was not only the speedy 167cm Argentine he had to worry about.
All great players make adjustments according to their predicament, and after snaring the opening set on Rod Laver Arena, Nadal was thrown a curve ball in the way of a wardrobe change.
His bright pink neon shorts have drawn throwback comparisons to a 1980s jazzercise instructor, and on Sunday they garnered further attention when Nadal decided against wasting one of his two toilet breaks for the match to change his sweat-soaked kit.
“So if I want to change my shorts what do I do? I have to change it here?” the Spaniard enquired of chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph, who informed him he could use one of his bathroom breaks to do so.
“Yeah, but depends how long is the match, I’ll have to change two times,” Nadal grinned.
The solution – changing in the player tunnel off to the side of the court away from the glare of a packed stadium.
That minor hiccup aside, Nadal was more concerned at what was to come his way in set No.2 after he failed to serve out a two-set lead at 6-5.
The plucky Argentine roused the crowd when he broke with a forehand winner to force the tiebreak, and sent them into a frenzy when he threaded a forehand down the line to end a 17-shot rally to edge his nose in front.
Schwartzman was well in the hunt when he levelled at a set apiece and had back-to-back Grand Slam quarterfinals in mind, having also reached that stage on the hard courts of New York last season.
After a seven-deuce game fell the way of Nadal on serve for 1-1 in the fourth, however, the Spaniard stepped it up a gear.
Schwartzman’s will began to fracture when three more break points went begging at 3-4. He would finish with just three from 18 converted as Nadal charged to the finish line.
With confidence building in his body, mind and wardrobe-changing resourcefulness, Nadal could not be better braced for his second-week charge.