Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal produced a rich vein of form as he thrashed Alexander Zverev Jr. of Germany in straight sets to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters here on Thursday.
The Spanish maestro, who is bidding for his 10th title at the tournament, swept aside Zverev 6-1 , 6-1 in a one-sided last-16 clash of the men's singles event that lasted one hour and eight minutes at Court Rainier III.
Nadal will now face the winner of another pre-quarterfinal clash between Buenos Aires' Diego Schwartzman and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.
Meanwhile, World No.3 Stan Wawrinka crashed out of the tournament after going down against 16th-seed Pablo Cuevas of Argentina 4-6, 4-6.
Earlier in the day, top-ranked Andy Murray, a three-time semi-finalist at the tournament, suffered a major blow as he knocked out of tournament after suffering a 6-2, 2-6, 5-7 defeat at the hands of World No.24 Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain in their last-16 clash.