"Wouldn't be bad to play a right-hander for a change,'' the three-time defending champion said Friday. "But I'm fine with it. You see, I haven't lost a set yet.''
Good point.
The second-seeded Nadal beat No. 26 Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros and improve to 24-0 for his career at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
That includes a 3-for-3 mark against lefties this year, all in straight sets.
"I mean, it's obviously very hard to beat him if you're left- or right-handed,'' said Nieminen, who dropped to 0-5 against Nadal. "If you are not physically 100 percent, after a while it starts to get mental, as well. It's very tough to play against him.''
Next up for Nadal is No. 22 Fernando Verdasco, a Spanish southpaw who beat No. 15 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 Friday. Verdasco, who has lost all five career meetings with Nadal, will be trying to reach his first major quarterfinal when they play Sunday.
"He doesn't give you any points. I'll have to be very patient and sometimes you need to fight for all points against Rafa,'' Verdasco said. "So I'll do my best. And if I do my best and lose, so what?''
Nieminen does think left-handers have a slightly better chance against Nadal, because the shots he directs at righties' backhands go to lefties' forehands.
"It's a little bit easier,'' Nieminen said. "But it's still a very tough shot.''
The indefatigable Nadal was looking forward to getting some rest Saturday after having spent time on court four consecutive days during the rainy tournament. His first-round match originally was scheduled for Monday, didn't begin until Tuesday, and then was suspended after two games. He finished that off Wednesday, and played in the second round Thursday.
"It affected me only a bit. The matches were short,'' Nadal said. "Actually, the worst part was waiting to play my first match. It took two days and waiting that long makes you nervous.''
The only sign of any problem Friday came after the second set, when a trainer came out to treat a blister on the bottom of Nadal's right foot. It's something that bothered him during his loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Rome Masters this month, one of only two defeats for Nadal in his past 113 matches on clay.
"It wasn't hurting too much. I asked for treatment just as a precaution,'' he said. "I didn't want a repeat of what happened a few weeks ago.''
Believe it or not, the man often called the "King of Clay,'' wants more chances to play on grass courts.
He complained in Rome about the ATP clay-court calendar being too compressed, and Friday he discussed the limited grass-court schedule.
"Well, the grass-court season is very, very, very short, no? I always say the same, no?'' the two-time Wimbledon runner-up said. "It's not fair: You only have two weeks (to) prepare for (a) very important tournament like Wimbledon.''
This year, the French Open ends June 8, and Wimbledon begins June 23.
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MORE DOUBLES: Maria Sharapova is seeing double at the French Open.
She turned in another 10 double-faults, raising her tournament total to a whopping 27 after only two matches, but managed to pull out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Bethanie Mattek of the United States in a match suspended by darkness Thursday night and finished Friday.
It was considerably more competitive than the last time they met. At a tournament in Charleston, S.C., in April, Sharapova beat Mattek 6-0, 6-0.
"I wasn't going to let that happen again,'' Mattek said. "I remember I called one of my friends, crying.''
Sharapova's shaky serving nearly got her in serious trouble while ahead 3-1 in the third set. She double-faulted twice in a row to gift-wrap a break point, then added a ribbon by pushing a forehand long.
But she wouldn't double-fault again - or lose another game.
There really was only one more test for Sharapova, when she sailed two backhands long and gave Mattek a break point for a chance to get within 4-3. Delivering when she had to, though, Sharapova hit a 114 mph serve to set up a groundstroke winner that erased the break point, ended an 11-stroke exchange with a swinging forehand volley, then closed the game with a 105 mph service winner.
"She's still an intimidating player,'' Mattek acknowledged. "She's still Maria Sharapova, and it's always tough to play against her.''
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EARTHQUAKE RELIEF: A tennis ball autographed by Maria Sharapova and a shirt signed by Novak Djokovic are among the items being auctioned off as part of a project by the ATP and WTA tours to contribute to relief efforts for China's worst earthquake in three decades.
The tours and individual tournaments are donating money, and Roger Federer and Serena Williams also have pledged items for auctions on www.sonyericssonwtatour.com and www.atptennis.com.
Federer and other players, including Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie of China, recorded videotaped messages of support for airing on Chinese national TV.
The confirmed death toll from the earthquake has risen to about 68,000, with more than 18,000 other people missing.
Big Papi sits out again because of knee bruise
Nadal wins 4th straight Barcelona Open
