Rafael Nadal was made to work hard by Feliciano Lopez, but his quality was too much for Lopez as he took the match in straight sets 6-4 6-4 6-2.
The opening set started evenly between the fellow countrymen, but it was Nadal who struck first by breaking serve to take an early advantage.
Lopez stood firm and made it difficult for the number two seed but by the end, there was an air of resignation as Nadal took the set 6-4.
Lopez, the 18th seed, came out for the second set looking to battle and went like-for-like against Nadal's aggressive style. The opening exchanges went by way of serve until Lopez broke Nadal's serve to take it to 2-2.
Lopez's sliced back hand was particularly impressive, causing Nadal many problems as he tried to return the shots fired at him from all angles. However, Nadal's class shone through as he dominated the court once again.
The former Wimbledon champion's forehand was too much for Lopez to handle at times and he broke serve again, eventually serving for the set to take it 6-4.
The sliced back hand was still Lopez's main strength in the third set, but that did not stop Nadal earning himself a double-break cushion at 5-2. The Spaniard served for the match and took the set 6-2 for the match, despite flashes of promise from Lopez.
Nadal now heads into the quarter finals, where he will face either Tomas Berdych or Nicolas Almagro.
Sam Hughes
