World No.1 Rafael Nadal has battled his way into his 10th Australian Open quarter-final with a hard-earned four-set win over dogged Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

Nadal dropped his first set of the tournament before regrouping to move into the last eight with a 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3 victory in three hours and 51 minutes on Sunday.

Spain’s 16-time grand slam champion will play 2017 Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic for a semi-final spot on Tuesday after the big-serving Croat recorded a similarly tough 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (7-3) win over 10th seed Pablo Carrena Busta.