On the anniversary of his very first title in Barcelona, Rafael Nadal defeated Croatian Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. He will next play against Nicolas Almagro.

Rafa reached another milestone today: He is now level with tennis great Arthur Ashe in the 11th place on the Open Era match wins list with his victory today. Our champion currently boasts a 683-133 career mark, on par with Ashe’s 683-225 record. Rafa will enter the top 10 career victories list when he equals the 10th place record of Boris Becker at 713 victories.

Congratulations twice over, Rafa, and Vamos!