Defending champion and top seed Milos Raonic cruised into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International with a regulation 6-3, 6-2 win over Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Thursday. Raonic, who beat Roger Federer to win the 2016 Brisbane title, will now take on Rafael Nadal for a place in the semi-finals after the Spaniard crushed Germany's Mischa Zverev 6-1, 6-1.

Raonic broke Schwartzman once in the first set and three times in the second to wrap up the match in 69 minutes, but said he wasn't happy with his start. "At the beginning I really struggled that first service game, and had another close service game before I started to get in on his games," Raonic said.

"Then I could feel I started imposing myself on him. He started making some mistakes and I was able to create some things as well. "I have to be glad with how I finished." Nadal wasted no time in his 55 minute demolition of Zverev to the delight of the packed crowd in Pat Rafter Arena. The 14-time Grand Slam singles winner gave Zverev no chance, blasting 30 winners across the two sets and making only seven unforced errors.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017