Rafa Nadal returned to the grand slam big-time by fending off Gael Monfils 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4 in a tense clash yesterday to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals. Former champion Nadal had not reached the last eight in a major since the 2015 French Open, so he celebrated wildly after closing out the two-hour 56-minute clash at a packed Rod Laver Arena. It was not the most convincing of wins for the 30-year-old Spaniard, who was rattled when Monfils rallied in the fourth set, but the 14-times grand slam champion was clinical when it counted to keep his pursuit of a 15th major title alive. Nadal will meet Milos Raonic for a place in the semi-finals. The third seed came safely through a potentially tricky match against Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 to reach the last eight in Melbourne for the third straight year. Raonic, the highest surviving seed after the early departures of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, stamped his authority on a sometimes tempestuous match by breaking the Spanish world number 13 to win the third set. Teak tough Bautista Agut is nothing if not a fighter but Raonic, who said he had been suffering from a fever after his third-round match, raced away with...
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