World No 1 Rafael Nadal fought off a spirited challenge from Japan’s Kei Nishikori to win through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.
The Spaniard won 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) in three hours 17 minutes and will play Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the last eight.
Nishikori, under new coach Michael Chang, pressed Nadal all the way and had his chances to take sets off the top seed only to fall down on forehand errors.
Nadal was angered when he was called for a time violation by chair umpire Eva Asderaki at deuce while 4-4 at a critical time in the third set, but he regathered his composure to win the match in his second tiebreaker.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion’s renowned fighting qualities came to the fore when he won the big points for his sixth win over Nishikori.
“He’s a fantastic player and Kei is able to hit the ball very early and the ball was coming back very quick,” said Nadal, who is now on a nine-match winning streak.
“It was difficult for me to take position inside the court and I was close to losing every set so I congratulate Kei and I feel he will have a great season.
“He is always very quick around the court, but today with his backhand today he was able to take the ball quicker and that’s why I was struggling for my position on the court.”
Nadal broke Nishikori’s opening service but that was only a precursor to a tremendous opening set by the Japanese star.
He broke the world number one’s serve for the first time in the tournament and more than matched Nadal with his shot-making and speed around the court.
The set went to a tiebreaker but Nadal wrapped it up on his second set point in one hour and five minutes.
Nishikori again broke the struggling top seed who missed with a forehand in the fifth game of the second set.
But Nadal got the break back in the eighth before there was a delay as he sought a replacement shoelace after it snapped during a rally.
The set looked headed for another tiebreak before Nadal broke Nishikori in the 12th game with a forehand to take a two sets to love advantage.
Nadal broke early in the final set and fought off two break points in his next service game only to hit a double fault on break point to drop service in the seventh game.
Nadal was broken for 5-4 and was upset when he was called for a time violation in between points by the chair umpire, but Nishikori was broken back as he served for the set.
Once again Nadal’s nerve and skill held strong in the tiebreak to take the match and advance to the last eight.
No 22 seed Dimitrov advanced to the meeting with Nadal by beating unseeded Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The Bulgarian beat 11th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic in the third round, while Bautista-Agut upset fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro in the second.
Andy Murray, a four-set victor over lucky loser Stephane Robert, will face the winner of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Roger Federer.
In the other two quarter-final matches, seeds held serve out of their sections, with No 3 David Ferrer facing No 7 Tomas Berdych and No 2 Novak Djokovic facing No 8 Stanislas Wawrinka.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
