Cameron Norrie became the final British player to fall in the French Open singles as he was unable to create a seismic shock against Rafael Nadal.
Norrie, 25, pushed the 13-time champion in their third-round match, but the Spaniard’s quality proved too much.
The third seed won 6-3 6-3 6-3 to set up a last-16 match with Jannik Sinner.
Top seed Novak Djokovic’s quest for a second career Grand Slam continued with another one-sided victory as he beat Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis.
Nadal beat Djokovic in last year’s final and the pair remain on course to meet in the semi-finals this time around after being drawn in the same half.
Norrie had previously played Nadal twice, both matches taking place this year – first at the Australian Open, then on the Barcelona clay – and both ending in straight-set defeats for the Briton.
Going into the third meeting, this time at the place where Nadal has been almost unbeatable, Norrie insisted he had “nothing to lose” as he tried to avenge those defeats.
The task was daunting, though.
Nobody in the history of the sport has been as dominant at one place as Nadal on the Paris clay, having won 102 of his 104 matches there on the way to his record 13 titles.
Even though the Spaniard turned 35 this week, he has been as dominant as ever as Norrie looked to end his streak of 29 winning sets.
That record was stretched further as the 20-time Grand Slam champion comfortably served out the opener after breaking decisively for a 4-2 lead.
Nevertheless, Norrie was undeterred and played at a good level as he threatened Nadal at the start of the second set.
The British number two broke for 2-0 and 3-1 leads, but was unable to back up either with a hold as Nadal rattled off the final five games of the set.
While trying everything and getting little joy out of Nadal, Norrie refused to become despondent but saw the third set slip out of his grasp with a single break in the fourth game.
“I thought I played great. I don’t think I took enough risk,” said Norrie, who is set to rise to the cusp of the world’s top 40 after the tournament.
