Nadal bursts Sousa’s bubble to reach quarters

The sweet-spot in Rafael Nadal’s racket appeared to be the size of a beachball on Monday as the Spaniard fired off winners left, right and centre to hurtle into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a ruthless 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Joao Sousa.

The Spaniard was not pleased when he was seeded third at the grasscourt championships, despite his status as world number two, and even less happy when the draw put him on a second-round collision course with Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios.

On Monday, however, he was all smiles as he enjoyed his quickest workout at this year’s tournament, ending Sousa’s bid to become the first Portuguese to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam with an ace.

He will next face either Tennys Sandgren or Sam Querrey of the United States for a place in the semi-finals.