Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic continued their battle for the year-end world number one ranking as both players reached the Paris Masters quarter-finals with wins over Stan Wawrinka and Kyle Edmund respectively.
The 33-year-old Nadal is already guaranteed to usurp Djokovic at the rankings summit next week, but winning a maiden Bercy title would also secure the year-end top spot before next month's ATP Tour Finals in London.
He produced an impressive display on Thursday to take his career head-to-head record against three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka to 19-3 with a clinical 6-4, 6-4 victory. Djokovic had earlier booked his last-eight place with a 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 win over Britain's Edmund.
Nadal has never won the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals and only two of his 84 titles have come indoors. "That's the beautiful thing about this sport, to have the capacity to adapt yourself to the different conditions," said the 12-time French Open winner, who called the doctor onto the court in the second set to help deal with a stomach problem. Nadal will face 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals after the French wildcard saved two match points to edge out Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6).
