Rafael Nadal swept aside Serb Dusan Lajovic to reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Friday as he warms up for the final Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros. The nine-time Rome winner came through 6-1, 6-3 against the 25th-ranked Lajovic, who had valiantly but vainly launched a fightback after trailing 4-0 in the second set to the Spaniard. World number two Nadal next meets Argentine eighth seed Diego Schwartzman who dropped a set before recovering to see off Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal, 34, won his first Rome title back in 2005, and is bidding for a third consecutive crown on clay in the Italian capital and 10th in total. The 12-time French Open champion is returning to competition, having not played since winning in Acapulco in February, opting to skip the US hard court tour because of coronavirus concerns. ea/bsp