Rafael Nadal sinks Fabio Fognini to remain on Australian Open title course

The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal will compete in his 13th Australian Open quarter-final after defeating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes.

The Spaniard had the upper hand in the more significant part of the encounter, overcoming the second set's setback and earning the 13th victory over the Italian from 17 matches. The Spaniard got broken twice and erased that deficit with six return games from 19 break chances, enough to carry him through without losing a set.

Rafa hit 24 winners and 20 unforced errors, taming his strokes more efficiently than his opponent and playing well on both serve and return to bring the victory home and extend his streak to 33 consecutive sets won at Majors!

Nadal grabbed two breaks in the opening set to claim it 6-3, serving well despite landing only 42% of the first serve in. Rafa earned a break in game two and lost the advantage at 3-1 when Fabio broke back. Still, the Spaniard secured another lead a few minutes later and closed the set with an unreturned serve at 5-3. Trailing 4-2 in set number two, Nadal claimed four straight games to turn the tables and grab the set with breaks in games seven and nine.

With a boost on his side, Rafa stole the rival's serve in the third set's third game and earned another break at 4-1 that carried him over the top. Nadal will face Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Berrettini in the battle for the semi-final.