China Open: World No.1 Rafael Nadal tames Karen Khachanov to march into quarters

World number one Rafael Nadal produced a rich vein of form as he saw off Karen Khachanov of Russia in straight sets to sail into the quarter-finals of the China Open here of Thursday.

The Spanish tennis maestro, who is bidding to win his second China Open title, remained dominant throughout the match as he eased past Khachanov 6-3, 6-3 in a one-sided men's singles second round that lasted almost one and a half hour. It was the Spaniard's second win over Khachanov this year as he saved the six break points he faced and broke his Russian opponent three times.

Currently, Nadal leads the ATP World Tour with 58 match wins in 2017 and is chasing his sixth tour-level crown in what has been an outstanding season. He has won two major titles at Roland Garros and the US Open while also picking up two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.

Nadal will now look to book his place in the semi-finals when he faces sixth-seed John Isner, who swept aside Leonardo Mayer 6-0, 6-3 in under an hour.