Nadal cruises into Monte Carlo quarter-final

MONTE CARLO, Monaco: Third seed Rafael Nadal turned in a routine performance to dispatch German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-4 as the Spanish king of clay bids for a record ninth straight trophy at the event.

"I'm very excited to play in every tournament, and especially when I'm
playing in a tournament like Monte Carlo," said Nadal, who won his 44th match in a row at the venue where he suffered his only loss a decade ago.

The eight-time champion will next line up against Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Germany's Florian Mayer, 6-2, 6-4.

The win was the Spaniard's 17th in a row after successive titles this season in Sao Paulo, Acapulco and Indian Wells.

Second seeded Andy Murray, who has yet to win a claycourt title, collapsed to a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Stanislas Wawrinka.

The win for the Swiss in less than an hour guaranteed that Roger Federer returns to the number two ranking on Monday, sending the Murray back to third.

The shell-shocked Scot committed 24 unforced errors.

US Open champion Murray, a 2012 quarter-finalist, went nil for two on break points and lost his own serve five times in the rout.

Murray had regained the number two world ranking on the strength of his win in the Miami Masters. (AFP)