After fending off four set points and being unable to convert the first six of his own, Rafael Nadal finally clinched a 28-minute and 40-second tiebreaker to get himself on course to secure a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals for the 14th time.
And now, after a 7-6 (14), 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round victory over fellow left-hander Adrian Mannarino on Sunday, Nadal is potentially just three wins away from a men's record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
“First set (was) very, very emotional,” Nadal said. “Anything could happen there. I was a little bit lucky at the end. I had chances, he had a lot of chances too.”
Nadal will next play Denis Shapovalov, the 22-year-old Canadian who finished off a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Olympic gold medalist Zverev on Margaret Court Arena less than an hour later to reach the last eight in Australia for the first time.
Nadal is now tied with John Newcombe in second spot on the all-time list for most quarterfinals in Australia, one behind Roger Federer's 15.
It’s also the Spaniard's 45th time into the last eight at a Grand Slam tournament, which is third on the all-time behind Federer (58) and Novak Djokovic (51).
He shares the men's record of 20 major titles with Federer and Djokovic. But he's the only one of the trio playing in this tournament.
Mannarino, who didn't finish his third-round win until after 2 a.m. on Saturday and appeared to be hampered at times by an abdominal or upper leg injury, threw everything at Nadal in the opening set on Rod Laver Arena, where temperatures approached 33 Celsius (91 F).
The first set lasted 85 minutes, including the 'breaker, but after getting early breaks in the second and third sets the match was over in 2 hours, 40 minutes.