Rafael Nadal has powered through to the last 16 of the Australian Open with a 3-sets-to-1 win over Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
The 6th seeded Spaniard looking to claim a record 21st Grand Slam title in the absence of great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic was sensational and eased through the first two sets 6-3 and 6-2.
Nadal then dropped his first set of the tournament after losing the third 6-3. But he seized back control with a break of serve at the start of the fourth and raced to a 6-1 win to finish off the match after nearly 3 hours.
Nadal who has won the Australian Open once in 2009 will next meet Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the 4th round.