Rafael Nadal was back to his bullocking best as he charged into the Australian Open fourth round with a straight sets win over Israeli Dudi Sela on Friday night.
An ailing Nadal almost quit during his previous match on Rod Laver Area, struggling with cramps and stomach pain as he fought back from two sets down to beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek.
But the world No.2 looked fighting fit as he trounced world No.106 Sela 6-1 6-0 7-5 and set up a final 16 meeting with 14th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson.
While Nadal strolled through the opening two sets, his gruelling second-round match started to take its toll in the third set, which lasted just over an hour.
However he showed his class to save three break points to go ahead 6-5 and then needed one match point to seal the result.
The Spaniard, who was runner-up last year, was happy with his first two sets.
"I think I started playing well with not many mistakes," Nadal said.
"I was playing much better than the other day."
Nadal arrived in melbourne underdone after back, appendicitis and wrist problems - and was relieved to still be in the tournament.
"It's difficult to compare," he said when asked if he felt better than during his round-two match.
"That was one of the toughest moments I felt on court and my body was not in good condition.
"I was lucky to be through."
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