Nadal to face Australian Nick Kyrgios in the last 16 in Melbourne on Monday
Saturday 25 January 2020 13:20, UK
Top seed Rafael Nadal brushed aside countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets to reach the Australian Open fourth round for the 13th time.
The 33-year-old broke his Spanish countryman five times as he secured a 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory against the 27th seed in one hour and 38 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal, targeting a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title, did not face a single break point as he hit 42 winners compared to just seven unforced errors.
The Spaniard, whose only Australian Open title came in 2009, will next meet Australian Nick Kyrgios after the 24-year-old later beat 16th seed Karen Khachanov 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) in a thrilling five-set contest.
"It's my best match of the tournament so far without a doubt, so that's a very good thing," said Nadal.
"I'm super happy. Sorry for Pablo because he's a good friend of mine. When the conditions are warmer the ball bounces higher and flies through the air. That helps my game.
"I did very well with my serves and started to hit some forehands down the line. That is key for me."
Victory for Nadal extended his winning streak against fellow Spaniards to 18 matches, going back to a 2016 Australian Open first-round defeat by Fernando Verdasco.
Fifth seed Dominic Thiem reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the third time in the past four years with a 6-2 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 win against American Taylor Fritz.
The 26-year-old Austrian, who lost in the final of the season-ending ATP Finals last year, hit 56 winners, including 12 aces, as he won the key points against his 22-year-old opponent.
Thiem will next play France's Gael Monfils, who earlier beat Ernests Gulbis in straight sets.
The 33-year-old reached the second week at Melbourne Park for the fourth time, and first since 2017, as he maintained his perfect record against the Latvian in their third meeting.
Gulbis, who reached the French Open semi-final in 2014, made 52 unforced errors compared to 22 from the 10th seed as Monfils converted five of his nine break points in an assured performance.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka progressed to the last 16 when big-serving American John Isner retired with a foot injury in the second set, trailing 6-4 4-1.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka will next play Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev after he eased past Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-3 6-2.
Russian Andrey Rublev continued his flawless start to 2020 as he recorded his 11th consecutive victory of the season to defeat Belgian 11th seed David Goffin 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
The 17th seed, who has already won titles in Doha and Adelaide in the opening two weeks of the campaign, will face seventh seed Alexander Zverev after the German beat Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-2 6-4.
Zverev won the last four games after going down a break in the third set against Verdasco, who was contesting his 67th consecutive Grand Slam tournament - the second-longest run for men behind Feliciano Lopez (72).
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