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French Open Day 9: Rafael Nadal marches on, Serena Williams' comeback cut short by injury

Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic were among the winners on Monday.

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Rafael Nadal continued his birthday celebrations by moving into the French Open quarter-finals on Monday, while Serena Williams' comaback was cut short due to injury. .

Holder Nadal extended his streak of consecutive completed sets won at the French Open to 37 as he thrashed Maximilian Marterer 6-3 6-2 7-6(4) to storm into the quarter-finals in Paris for a 12th time.

Only Bjorn Borg (41) has a longer streak and world number one Nadal, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, looks primed to go past the Swede's record.

American Serena Williams pulled out of the tournament shortly before she was due on court to face Maria Sharapova in a highly-anticipated fourth-round match. The 36-year-old 23-times Grand Slam winner, returning to the game after maternity leave this year, was unable to play due to a pectoral muscle injury.

Spain's Garbine Muguruza also advanced after her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired two games into their match. The third seed is seeking a second title in Paris after her 2016 success and takes on twice champion Sharapova next.

Argentine Diego Schwartzman produced a remarkable fightback from two sets down to overcome South Africa's Kevin Anderson 1-6 2-6 7-5 7-6(0) 6-2 and reach the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old Schwartzman, who faces Nadal next, was joined in the last eight by compatriot Juan Martin Del Potro who eased past American John Isner 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Up next for Del Potro is Marin Cilic who saw off a late comeback by Italian Fabio Fognini. Third seed Cilic survived an almighty scare before overcoming Fognini 6-4 6-1 3-6 6-7(4) 6-3 in a marathon match lasting three hours and 37 minutes. Cilic fired eight aces and hit 44 winners to quell the battling Italian and advance to the quarter-finals.

"I was so frustrated on some occasions," Cilic said. "A lot of opportunities and just missing some balls. It was not easy to keep going. It was a lot of ups and downs but I was really satisfied at the end with the way I was fighting."

Third seed Garbine Muguruza advanced to the quarter-finals after her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko was unable to continue because of a leg injury. Tsurenko was trailing 2-0 in the opening set of their last-16 match. In the next round, Muguruza faces an equally fresh Maria Sharapova, who came through after Serena Williams pulled out before the start of their fourth-round match because of a pectoral muscle injury.

Two-times Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber swatted aside local favourite Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3 to storm into the quarter-finals. The German next faces top seed Simona Halep.

World number one Simona Halep cruised to a 6-2 6-1 victory over Belgian Elise Mertens in the fourth round on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open for a second consecutive year.

Kerber and Halep have met nine times previously on the WTA Tour, with the Romanian winning five of those matches, including their last meeting at the semi-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year.

Daria Kasatkina swiftly dispatched Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki on Monday to move into the quarter-finals. The Russian, who led the second-seeded Dane by a set and 3-3 when play was called off on Sunday, won the first three games to seal a 7-6(5) 6-3 win.

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