<p>Rafa Nadal threw a blanket over the fire of Fabio Fognini to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win on Monday.</p>.<p>Facing the man who dumped him from the 2015 US Open, second seed Nadal held steady against the fierce hitting of the flamboyant Italian and counter-punched brilliantly to avoid a longer scrap at a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/far-from-australian-open-andy-murray-falls-in-final-of-italian-challenger-event-951339.html" target="_blank">Read | Far from Australian Open, Andy Murray falls in final of Italian Challenger event</a></strong></p>.<p>The score suggested otherwise, but it was a quality two-hour 16-minute workout for Nadal, who had to rally from 4-2 down in the second set to put the match on his terms.</p>.<p>From there, the momentum was all the Spaniard's as Nadal roared through the final set to fix up a clash with either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Berrettini.</p>
<p>Rafa Nadal threw a blanket over the fire of Fabio Fognini to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win on Monday.</p>.<p>Facing the man who dumped him from the 2015 US Open, second seed Nadal held steady against the fierce hitting of the flamboyant Italian and counter-punched brilliantly to avoid a longer scrap at a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/far-from-australian-open-andy-murray-falls-in-final-of-italian-challenger-event-951339.html" target="_blank">Read | Far from Australian Open, Andy Murray falls in final of Italian Challenger event</a></strong></p>.<p>The score suggested otherwise, but it was a quality two-hour 16-minute workout for Nadal, who had to rally from 4-2 down in the second set to put the match on his terms.</p>.<p>From there, the momentum was all the Spaniard's as Nadal roared through the final set to fix up a clash with either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Berrettini.</p>