Rafael Nadal secured his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a comfortable straight-sets win over Kevin Anderson.
Both players were strong on their serve in the opening stages of the match, with the South African in particularly holding with ease as he attempted to put Nadal under pressure.
© Getty Images
The 28-year-old did earn three break points with the match at 5-5, but failed to take any of his chances as Nadal produced his best tennis to secure a vital hold.
The Spaniard then carved out a break point of his own and he forced the error from the South African to take the opener 7-5.
Anderson looked dispirited by his failure to win the first set and carried this into his play in the second by allowing Nadal to seize the initiative.
The number three seed earned two breaks, as he won the first five games of the set with relative ease before Anderson got on the board, only for Nadal to claim the set and control of the match with a 6-1 victory.
Anderson rediscovered his potent service game at the start of the third set, although it did not last too long as Nadal found a way to break him once again to put him on the cusp of victory.
The number 14 seed refused to wilt as he kept the Spaniard at bay, despite the 2009 champion's impressive form as he hit several imperious winners in the set.
However, Nadal was able to serve out for the match without trouble to secure the set 6-4 and with it his place in the last eight of the competition, where he will face Tomas Berdych.
Simon Sinclair
