Operation emulation as Nadal eyes slice of history

RAFAEL NADAL fired out a warning to his Australian Open rivals by beating Marin Cilic and then declaring himself back to full fitness.

The Spaniard, who is bidding to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four grand slams simultaneously, set up a quarter-final against countryman David Ferrer after seeing off the big-serving Croatian 6-2 6-4 6-3.

Nadal looked out of sorts on Saturday night despite beating Bernard Tomic — sweating profusely as he struggled through – but cut a far more composed figure this evening as he offered Cilic few chances of an upset.

And he confirmed afterwards he was over the effects of a virus he contracted in the Middle East before coming to Melbourne.

He said: “Today I felt very good. I didn’t sweat like the other days. So that’s fantastic news for me. In previous days I was sweating like crazy and I was feeling very tired. Today was the first time that I felt perfect physically”.

Ferrer ended the run of Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic who beat seeds Michael Llodra and Mikhail Youzhny in his two previous matches. But he was no match for the seventh seed, Ferrer winning 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Robin Soderling was the surprise casualty on day eight, going down to Alexandr Dolgopolov. World number four Soderling was beaten more convincingly than the 1-6 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-2 scoreline suggests and had no excuses afterwards as Dolgopolov advanced to a last-eight meeting with Andy Murray, who thrashed Jurgen Melzer for the loss of just five games.

Murray was equally impressive in his 6-3 6-1 6-1 demolition of Melzer.

The Austrian was expected to provide Murray with his first serious test of the tournament, but he proved no match for the Scot who has yet to drop a set in Melbourne as he bids to land his first grand slam title.

Kim Clijsters completed the women’s quarter-final line-up although she was made to struggle by Ekaterina Makarova.

The Belgian third seed is the bookmakers’ favourite to go all the way and land her first title in Melbourne, but she encountered some stiff resistance from Makarova before finally edging through 7-6 (7/3) 6-2.

“She is a tricky player and a left-hander – we don’t get them too often so you have to have a different mindset, especially with the returns,” said Clijsters.

Clijsters now meets Agnieszka Radwanska. Pole Radwanska moved into the quarters in Melbourne for the second time in her career thanks to a 7-5 3-6 7-5 victory over Shuai Peng.

Vera Zvonareva remained on course for a third successive grand slam final appearance with victory over Iveta Benesova. The number two seed suffered a slow start but roared back to win 6-4 6-1 to set up a last-eight clash against Petra Kvitova, who continued her impressive run with a three-set win over Flavia Pennetta.

Zvonareva will have to be at her best when she comes up against Kvitova. The 25th seed, who beat Sam Stosur in the previous round, hit back to oust Italian Pennetta 3-6 6-3 6-3.