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A match billed as the match of the tournament so far did more than live up to its billing. And in the end Rafael Nadal needed to show all his experience to get the better of his younger rival winning 6-7 6-2 6-4 against Nick Kyrgios.

Now, Nadal progresses to a match which is even more mouthwatering as he gets ready to take on world No.1 Novak Djokovic on Friday. Nadal was certainly a happy man after his Kyrgios success.

“I’m playing well, I feel like I am playing at the right level,” he said. “Today was important victory for me, of course, against a very difficult opponent. And coming back after a tough first set that I had a lot of opportunities, I believe, after the first six games I think I had more chances than him, but I had couple of mistakes with those chances. And then in the tiebreak I had one double fault and then he played great.

“When you lose a set, I think everybody is worried. If somebody comes here and says I was not worried after losing the first set probably he is lying, because when you lose a set, you can lose another one. If you lose the second or the third, you’re out.

“And especially playing against a player like Nick, that he has a huge serve, very aggressive player, great shots. So it’s difficult to play under pressure after losing the first, no?

“But I think I managed it well, no? I played very solid during the whole match, serving well, and I think playing with not many mistakes and having some winners, too.

“Let’s keep going. And I know if I am able to play the way that I am playing the last four weeks during the rest of the season, I hope and I believe that I can finish in a high position than what I am today.”

Britain’s Andy Murray successfully made the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-0 win over Jeremy Chardy and will now play David Goffin who incredibly beat Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-0.

“Apart from a few minutes of the match, I played very well,” he said. “My returning was good and I made it difficult for him. I played a lot of different shots and used a lot of variety.

“David’s obviously a top player. He’s been around top 20 in the world for the last couple of years, and this year he’s played very well.

“To win love and love against one of the best players in the world you’ve got to be feeling good.”

Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka was upset in three sets by Juan Monaco.

Scores