Melbourne: Rafael Nadal has advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 13th time.
The No. 2-ranked Nadal closed his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over 16th-seeded Fabio Fognini with an ace.
He was wary of Fognini and lifted his game in the second and third sets to avoid any repeat of the 2015 U.S. Open. That’s when Fognini became one of only two players who’ve rallied from two sets down to beat Nadal in five.
There was no chance this time. Nadal responded to dropping a service game in the second set by breaking straight back.
He will now play either fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas or ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini in the last eight. It will be Nadal’s 43rd Grand Slam quarterfinal. He shares the record for most men’s major titles with Roger Federer. They each have 20.
Nadal’s preparation for the year’s first major was hampered by back stiffness.
After the win over Fognini he said: I’m happy the back is holding better.
The Melbourne tournament remained fan-free for a third day on Monday during a five-day lockdown in Victoria state to curb a coronavirus outbreak.
As the action continued in front of empty stands, unseeded American Jessica Pegula reached her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final with victory over Elina Svitolina, her first over a top-10 player.
Pegula, whose billionaire father owns the Buffalo Bills NFL team, overcame fifth seed Svitolina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a meeting with fellow American Jennifer Brady, a 6-1, 7-5 winner against Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
‘I can’t get more confident — it is my best result yet and I’m playing good tennis and today was a hard-fought win, said Pegula, 26.
Medvedev, the 2019 US Open runner-up, blew away American world number 192 Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to 18 matches.
Rublev, who is also unbeaten this year, went through when Norway’s Casper Ruud retired after losing the first two sets.
The 22-year-old Norwegian had reached the last 16 at a Slam for the first time — emulating his father, Christian, who achieved the same feat at the 1997 Australian Open.
With qualifier Aslan Karatsev already through to face Grigor Dimitrov in the top half of the draw, it means there will be three Russian men in the last eight of a Slam for the first time since the Open era began in 1968.