Australian Open REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
MELBOURNE, Jan. 21 Sixth seed Rafanadal lost his first set at this year's Australian Open but still beat Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-6 6-1 to reach the fourth round.
Espanyol tried to claim a record 21st Grand Slam title in the absence of great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who led in two sets as shocking.
However, the 28th seed Khachanov put caution behind in the third set and stopped Nadal's charge with some ferocious shots.
Olympic runner-up Khachanov has lost seven previous encounters with 2009 Australian Open champion Nadal, but he briefly looked capable of making a comeback.
However, Nadal regained control with a break at the start of the fourth quarter, and with the clock at Rodravo Arena already past midnight, he hurried to finish the game.
Nadal made melbourne's 16th appearance in 17 matches and will face another Russian, No. 18 seed Aslan Karatsev or Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, next.
"I played a fantastic player tonight and I'm glad it was my best game since my comeback," said The 35-year-old Nadal missed the second half of 2021 with a foot injury.
He said on the pitch. "I went through some tough times last year, but tonight means everything like tonight."
With Federer still injured and nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic deported after a visa dispute, Nadal has a chance to get ahead of the duo, who share most of the men's Grand Slam title records with him.
After a regular-season victory in the first and second rounds over future American Marcos Gilone and German qualifier Jannik Hanfmann, Khachanov represented Nadal in his class progression despite the Russians winning only one game in Mallorca.
However, Nadal was ready and scored 12 points in the first 13 minutes, confirming his authority across the pitch.
Khachanov did not respond to Nadal's intensity and scored only one point in Nadal's first set.
Nadal broke at the start of the second set, but Khachanov won an incredible run in the fourth set, jumping up from the floor, winning with a backhand and then winning another incredible rally to get a break point.
He couldn't change that and Nadal scored immediately in the following game to take the lead in two sets.
Khachanov started hitting the ball closer to the bottom line in the third set and took a 3-1 lead in the third set, which he took after breaking Nadal's serve for the first time.
In the second game of the fourth set, Nadal broke Khachanov's serve and spirit with his backhand.