Nadal wins battle of Spain to reach quarters

Rafael Nadal blew hot and cold against fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez but emerged a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner under a blistering sun to become the first man into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday.

The world number two Nadal, coming off three lop-sided victories, encountered much stiffer resistance from his Davis Cup team mate, a fellow left-hander whose chipping and charging to the net had the Mallorcan repeatedly on the back-foot at Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal came to Melbourne Park under an injury cloud and had his left foot strapped by a physiotherapist early in the first set but moved nimbly enough to wear 30-year-old Lopez in the heat and seal the match in less than two and a half hours.

Nadal, the 2009 winner, advanced to his sixth consecutive quarterfinal at Melbourne Park, where he will face either Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych or another Spaniard in Nicolas Almagro.