Rafael Nadal defeats Adrian Mannarino to book Australian Open quarterfinal berth

Rafael Nadal won a first-set tiebreak lasting almost half an hour before going on to defeat France's Adrian Mannarino to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Nadal and Mannarino were level at 6-6 in the first set, with a tiebreak needed to snap the deadlock.

Both players had set points as the tiebreak wore on, with sixth-seeded Nadal eventually prevailing 16-14 after 28 minutes and 40 seconds.

The first set lasted more than 80 minutes, but Nadal found the going easier in the second and third sets as he powered his way to a 7-6 (16-14), 6-2, 6-2 victory in oppressive conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal will face the winner of the fourth-round clash between world number three Alexander Zverev and 14th seed Denis Shapovalov.

It will be the Spaniard's 14th appearance in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park. He won the 2009 title and was a runner-up in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019.

More to come.