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Nadal out to take down Tiafoe as Barty banks on home support
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Rafael Nadal (AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat)
T
he Australian Open reaches the quarter-finals stage Tuesday with Rafael Nadal facing the challenge of young giant-killer Frances Tiafoe and Petra Kvitova up against Ashleigh Barty and a parochial home crowd.
Day nine of the opening Grand Slam of the year sees the Spaniard look to move another step closer to winning an event he has only claimed once before among his 17 Grand Slam titles.
That was in 2009 when he beat Roger Federer in the final.
The Swiss master has already been eliminated this year, and Nadal will have his hands full against American Tiafoe in a night match on Rod Laver Arena.
Tiafoe, 21, has already accounted for fifth seed Kevin Anderson and battled past Grigor Dimitrov to make his first ever Slam last eight.
"He has everything. He's quick. He serves well. Very quick forehand," said second seed Nadal, who has not dropped a set so far.
"He's a very dynamic player, aggressive one. Of course, he's dangerous."
The winner will play either the man who shocked Federer in round four, Greek 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, or Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, who ended the tournament, and possibly the career, of the injured Andy Murray.
Bautista Agut, who has been stretched to five sets in three of matches so far, is wary of the gifted Greek, who is in a Slam quarter-final for the first time.
"He's one of the top players in the world. He will be one of the best, for sure. He's playing at a very high level," he said.
Czech eighth seed Kvitova goes into her clash with Barty having won all nine of her matches this year, including a three-set win over the Australian in the final of the Sydney International warm-up tournament.
She also has the experience of winning two Wimbledon titles, but will have to deal with crowd backing only one winner.
"It will be fun one," she said of meeting the 15th seed again. "I mean, Australians, of course, will be on her side, but that was the same in Sydney. So I'm kind of used to it."
The other quarter-final pits the unseeded pairing of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Danielle Collins against one another, with both players seeking Grand Slam breakthroughs.
Russia's Pavlyuchenkova is playing in her second quarter-final at Melbourne Park, but it is the first for Collins who had never won a Grand Slam match before this year but stunned second seed Angelique Kerber in round four.
"Everybody gets their shot at the pie. Right now I'm certainly getting mine," said the American world number 35.
