Melbourne: Former champion Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-final of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini at Melbourne Park on Monday.
After winning the first set, Nadal slumped to a 4-2 deficit in the second before reeling off four consecutive games to set up the 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory.
Nadal is gunning for a record 21st major and is now into his 43rd career grand slam quarter-final.
It is the 13th time, the World number two has made the last eight in Australia, moving to joint third on the all-time list behind only Roger Federer (15) and John Newcombe (14).
The Spaniard, bidding for a first title at Melbourne Park since 2009, has yet to drop a set and kept the record intact against the fiery Italian, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
Take it further, to the start of last year’s French Open, and Nadal has won his past 33 Grand Slam sets in a row.
Nadal will next face either fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or ninth seed Matteo Berrettini, who play later Monday.
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