World number one and Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal on Saturday booked his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open after brushing aside fellow countryman Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in straight sets at Melbourne Park.
The 33-year-old, who is chasing a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title, registered a comfortable 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Carreno Busta in a one-sided third-round clash that lasted one hour and 38 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
During the clash, Nadal broke the opening service games of Carreno Busta in the first and second sets before breaking his opponent's service game in the fifth game of the third set. He smashed a total of 42 winners in contrast to his opponent's 21 while making just seven unforced errors.
Reflecting on the same, Nadal said that it was undoubtedly his best match of the ongoing tournament.
"It's my best match of the tournament without a doubt. I'm very happy to be in the fourth round. Today I did very well with my serve and started to hit some good forehands down the line, which is a key shot for me," the Association for Tennis Professionals (ATP) quoted the top-ranked player as saying.
With the win, Nadal has now stormed into the second week of a major for the 48th time and also extended his ATP Head-to-Head rivalry against his countryman to 5-0.
Nadal will now lock horns with the winner of another fourth-round clash between Nick Kyrgios and Russia's Karen Khachanov.
