"The court today was slippery" - Nadal speaks on conditions following clinical win over Popyrin

With a record sixth Madrid title in his sights, Rafael Nadal took another step forward as he made quick work of Alexei Popyrin to reach his 15th quarterfinal at the Madrid Open.

The Spaniard required 79 minutes to complete the 6-3 6-3 drubbing of his younger opponent, improving his record to 10-0 against Australians on clay. However, the top seed seemed highly critical of the court conditions following his victory.

"It was difficult. The court today was slippery, it was very fast, very dry conditions. The ball was flying a lot. The beginning of the match was super tough," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "He was hitting every ball and hitting the spots. Very happy with the victory. It was an important victory, he came here playing well. Every match is tough."

The World No.2 has reached the quarterfinals or better in Madrid since 2013, and will be looking to win his eighth consecutive match dating back to the start of his title run in Barcelona. Nonetheless, he gave credit to Popyrin, stating that the World No.76 had a lot of potential.

"I think I was doing things well, even if it was difficult to play against a player like him, since he was trying to hit every single ball," Nadal said. "He was hitting every ball hard. I needed to adapt and I think I did that well."

The defending Roland Garros champion faces Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals, as the 2018 Madrid champion defeated Dan Evans to set up what should be an entertaining match.