Second seed Novak Djokovic has equalled Ivan Lendl's record of 29 successive wins from the start of the season after cruising into the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
The red-hot Serb took less than an hour to crush Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-2 to draw level with Lendl's achievement back in 1986.
The record for a winning start to a season remains 42 matches, set by John McEnroe in 1984, with Bjorn Borg in second place following his 33 straight wins in 1980.
Nadal and Djokovic maintain winning runs
"I was winning my service games really comfortably and that's something that I'm really happy about," Djokovic told the official ATP Tour website.
"It's a very encouraging fact for my upcoming matches especially on clay where you don't expect that many free points with the serve.
"It's important for me to see that I raised the level of my performance today for the upcoming quarterfinals," he added.
I was winning my service games really comfortably and that's something that I'm happy about
--Novak Djokovic
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Rafael Nadal
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Madrid Masters
Djokovic was joined in the last eight by both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, although only Swiss maestro Federer actually took to the court.
Third seed Federer looked surprisingly sharp in a 6-4 6-3 defeat of Belgian Xavier Malisse, considering he had a quick turnaround following his three-hour victory over Feliciano Lopez on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, top seed and defending champion Nadal was handed a bye into the last eight after opponent Juan Martin Del Potro retired before their third round match with a hip injury.
The 2009 U.S. Open champion had been bothered by the problem since reaching the Estoril semifinals last weekend.
"I just think that I'm not in a good condition to play and I'm sorry for the tournament, for the people and for Rafa," Del Potro told the official ATP Tour website.
"I woke up with a lot of pain and I talked with the doctor and did a test to see how I was feeling. I have experience with injuries, and I decided not to play."
The Argentine will not play in next week's Rome Masters and could well be doubtful for the French Open starting on May 22.
There was a shock later in the day, when fourth seed Andy Murray was sent crashing out 6-4 6-2 by Brazilian Thomaz Belluci.
comment: great for djocovik