Rafael Nadal continued his impressive comeback by overpowering wildcard Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday.
Playing his first tournament since being forced to retire injured at the 2023 Australian Open, Nadal was far too strong for the Australian, who did not have the shots to harm the Spaniard.
The 37-year-old Nadal, who beat former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the first round, powered through the first set, opening a 5-0 lead before Kubler finally held serve to get on the board.
The second set was almost as impressive as Nadal wrapped up the match in 1hr 23min.
He will play another Australian, Jordan Thompson, in the quarter-finals and remains on track for a possible semi-final against second seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Coco Gauff stepped up preparations for the Australian Open with an emphatic win at the Auckland Classic on Thursday but Emma Raducanu's comeback tournament was ended by Elina Svitolina in the last 16.
The reigning US Open champion Gauff, 19, cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-0 win over rising Czech teenager Brenda Fruhvirtova in an all-teenage clash.
But the 2021 Flushing Meadows winner from Britain, who is in her first tournament for eight months after operations on both wrists and an ankle, fell to the Ukrainian second seed 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.
Qualifier Fruhvirtova, 16, won only 10 points in the second set in a match that lasted just 70 minutes.
"She started off playing very well and I was able to raise my level," said Gauff, who sent down five aces.
"I thought I served well and I did better on the returns."
The American will next play French eight seed Varvara Gracheva, the world number 42.
The 29-year-old Svitolina said she was exhausted after battling back from a set down before finally securing victory after a 2hr 49min marathon.
"It was really difficult physically and I hope I can recover for tomorrow," said Svitolina after a gutsy display against Raducanu, 21.
In the quarter-finals, Svitolina will play seventh seed Petra Martic of Croatia who beat China's Yue Yuan 6-2, 6-2.
AFP