Playing in front of his countrymen, Spaniard Rafael Nadal booked his place in the Madrid Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Simone Bolelli on Thursday.
After surviving two break points in his opening service game, Nadal won the last five of the first set to assume control of the match.
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Nadal, the reigning champion, carried that momentum into the second set by opening with a break of serve and made one further gain to add further gloss to the triumph.
Nadal will now meet Grigor Dimitrov — a man he has beaten in all five previous meetings — in the quarters after the Bulgarian saw off world number nine Stan Wawrinka with a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3 win.
"I know what to expect from him and we all know what I'm going to put out there on the court, which is going to be a great performance," Dimitrov said. "It's one of those days where I really want to be out there on the court, playing against him on clay.
"I feel like I have been playing good tennis, so why not go out there and have fun, but at the same time, I know why I'm out there."
Tomas Berdych defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-2, to set up a quarterfinal clash with John Isner — a 6-3, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 victor over Nick Kyrgios.
Despite pushing his opponent to three sets, Kyrgios was unable to produce a repeat of the heroics that saw him knock out top seed Roger Federer on Wednesday.