The world No. 1 had to battle past Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round to keep his bid for a first Australian Open title since 2009 alive.

Nadal was yet to drop a set, but Kyrgios, who donned a Kobe Bryant jersey during the warmup in tribute to late Los Angeles Lakers star, proved to be an even harder test than expected for the 33-year-old.

Having won the first set, the Spaniard lost the second and required a tie-break in the remaining two, eventually defeating the No. 23 seed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4).

“Seems like in the beginning I was in control but you know against Nick you are never in control,” Nadal said afterward.

“If you make a mistake then it is difficult to break him. When Nick is playing like he did today with this positive attitude he brings a lot of things to our sport.

“I encourage him to keep working like this because he is one of the biggest talents of our tour.”

Nadal’s reward for defeating Kyrgios is a quarterfinal meeting with world No. 5 Dominic Thiem, who thrashed France’s Gael Monfils, the No. 10 seed, in straight sets.

Thiem, a finalist at the French Open for the last two years, won 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time in his career.

The day’s other quarterfinal sees No. 15 seed Stanislav Wawrinka take on world No. 7 Alexander Zverev.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time since 2017 by overcoming world no. 4 Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

It was the second time in this tournament that the Swiss, a winner in Melbourne in 2014, had to go the distance to progress.

“This was another amazing match, another amazing atmosphere, it was really tough to play against Daniil. The level was super high,” Wawrinka said.

Zverev, meanwhile, is yet to drop a set in the tournament and defeated world No. 16 seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in just over 90 minutes.

In the women’s tournament, two-time Grand Slam winner and No. 4 seed Simona Halep faces Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit, the No. 28 seed.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, Halep is yet to drop a set in the tournament and defeated No. 16 seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round

Her opponent, meanwhile, makes her first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

In the other quarterfinal, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, takes on Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The world No. 30 has knocked out No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova and No. 17 seed Angelique Kerber in the previous two rounds.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals start time

The quarterfinals of the Australian Open get underway at 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning.

However, because of the 16-hour difference between Melbourne and the east coast of the U.S., matches get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening.

TV channel

The Australian Open is broadcast exclusively across ESPN channels, with ESPN2 carrying the bulk of the tournament. Coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday and runs until 2 a.m. on Wednesday, before resuming at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday and running until 6 a.m. ET.

A replay will be available on ESPN2 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Live stream

Fans can watch the action online via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN.com.

Quarterfinals full schedule (All times ET)

Tuesday, January 28

Anett Kontaveit (28) vs. Simona Halep (4)—7 p. m. Garbine Muguruza vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (30)—Not before 8:30 p. m. Stan Wawrinka (15) vs. Alexander Zverev (7)—Not before 10:30 p. m.

Wednesday, January 29

Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Dominic Thiem (5)—3:30 a. m.

Australian Open odds

According to Oddschecker, Novak Djokovic is a 29/50 favorite to defend his title, followed by Rafael Nadal at 7/2. Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem are a 10/1 and 16/1 shot, respectively.

World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is a 34/25 favorite to win the women’s tournament, with Simona Halep at 3/1 and Garbine Muguruza at 11/2 respectively.