Rafael Nadal coasts past Damir Dzumhur and into Australian Open last 16
- Published
World number one Rafael Nadal continued his straightforward progress through the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-3 6-1 win over Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur.
The 31-year-old, who has won only one of his 16 Grand Slam titles in Australia, wrapped up his third-round victory in an hour and 50 minutes.
The Spaniard is yet to drop a set so far in the tournament and will face Argentine Diego Schwartzman next.
Nadal has won all three of his previous matches against the world number 26.
The Spaniard is seeded to meet Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals before a last-four meeting with Grigor Dimitrov and a final against Roger Federer.
Dzumhur never looked like derailing those plans, slipping 5-0 down in the opening set and offering up a total of 16 break points in the face of constant Nadal pressure.
Croat Cilic, a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2017, saw off American Ryan Harrison in straight sets, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to set up a meeting with 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
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