Verdasco will now face fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 runner-up, who scored an impressive win over American ninth seed James Blake.

Nadal, a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, was in control throughout his one hour and 55 minutes match.

The 22-year-old, who lost to the Chilean in the quarterfinals here two years ago, improved his career record to 5-3 over Gonzalez, winning for the fourth straight time.

This was their first meeting since Nadal won in straight sets in the gold medal match at the Beijing Olympics last August.

"I am playing well, but you never know if it's gonna be enough. So I hope I can continue playing like this, and later we will see, because all the matches are very difficult," Nadal said.

"Next match is going to be very tough. I have to be ready for everything," he added.

Nadal converted six of 13 break points and the only time he fell behind in the match was when Gonzalez broke for a 2-0 lead in the third set. But Nadal broke in the fifth game and again in the seventh game to secure the victory.

The Spaniard also fired 33 winners and only committed 11 unforced errors compared to the Chilean's 22 winners and 35 errors.

"I was tired. But I don't think it's the reason to lose the game. I was able to run. I was able to compete today. I mean, maybe I didn't play my best tennis, but I can run," said Gonzalez, who fought hard from two sets down to beat Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the previous round.

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