MELBOURNE, Jan 23: Rafael Nadal fought back to deny mercurial Frenchman Gael Monfils over four sets and reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2015 at the Australian Open on Monday.
Ninth seed Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, defeated the sixth-seeded Monfils 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena in almost three hours and will play Canada�s world number three Milos Raonic in the quarters.
It was a gutsy effort from the never-say-die Spaniard, who was down a service break with a fifth set looming before he broke Monfils twice to clinch victory.
The 2009 champion reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the ninth time and it was his first since the 2015 French Open.
�I�m very happy being in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam after a couple of years without being there. It�s very special for me, especially here in Australia where I feel (it�s) a little bit like home,� Nadal said.
It was Nadal�s first win over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam since he defeated number two Novak Djokovic to win the title at Roland Garros in 2014, his last Grand Slam win.
He will go into his Australian quarterfinal with a 6-2 lead over Raonic in their previous meetings.
Monfils was broken in his opening service game as Nadal went on to take the first set in 46 minutes.
Nadal lost his service in the sixth game but broke the unpredictable Frenchman three times to open up a two-set lead and was closing in on a straight-sets victory.
But Monfils fought back, breaking Nadal in the ninth game and saving three break points in serving it out to trail 2-1 in sets.
Nadal began to struggle in the fourth set as Monfils fought off two break points and broke the Spaniard in the next game with a net cord on one of his three break points.
But Nadal fought back, breaking the Frenchman with a marvellous backhand winner to level at 4-4 before holding serve to 5-4.
Nadal then got to his first match point in Monfils� next service game, which was saved. On a second match point, the Frenchman�s backhand was narrowly wide to send Nadal through.
Serena Williams kept up her pursuit of a record Grand Slam title and a return to world number one.
A day after defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber fell by the wayside, Williams overcame Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash with Britain�s Johanna Konta.
The American great would gain much from winning in Melbourne, as she would overtake Steffi Graf�s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and end Kerber�s short reign as world number one.
In hot conditions, she fought off the tenacious Strycova in two tight sets, following her sister Venus into the quarterfinals and staying on track for a possible all-Williams final.
�I have absolutely nothing to lose in this tournament,� said Williams, 35. �Everything here is a bonus for me. Obviously I�m here to win. Hopefully I can play better, I can only go better.�
Konta, the ninth seed, also reached the last eight with a perfect record in sets after a convincing 6-1, 6-4 victory over Russia�s Ekaterina Makarova.
Despite the task facing her, Konta was delighted to be playing Williams, a childhood idol, for what would be her second straight Australian Open semifinal.
Meanwhile Mirjana Lucic-Baroni wrote another chapter in her fairytale career revival when she beat American qualifier Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-2 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in 18 years.
The former teen prodigy, now 34, won the 1998 Australian Open women�s doubles with Martina Hingis but she fled her abusive father and suffered a series of injuries to put her career on hold.
Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov defeated Uzbek Denis Istomin 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-1 here to reach the quarterfinals.
Dimitrov will face in the quarterfinals Belgian David Goffin, who won 5-7, 7-4 (4), 6-2, 6-2 over Australian Dominic Thiem also on Monday. � Agencies