- Superstar Dupont raring to go for France return
- First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv
- Resilient but threatened, Kenya celebrates Maa culture
- Van Nistelrooy accepts Man Utd lack a clinical striker
- Maresca says Chelsea can beat 'any team'
- Kolisi on the bench as Springboks ring changes for Scotland clash
- Israeli football supporters back home after Amsterdam violence
- Stock markets waver after US election rally, rate cut
- Guardiola will 'solve' Man City's malaise
- Russia seeks six years for medic for criticising Ukraine campaign
- Leveraging Trump win, embattled Macron eyes diplomatic comeback
- England cricket great Botham hails Hughes for Aussie croc rescue
- Mbappe 'down but not out' says Real Madrid coach Ancelotti
- Arsenal ready to rebound after troubled spell: Arteta
- Cartier owner's profit sinks as China sales slump
- UN aims to set standards for scandal-hit carbon markets
- Australia rugby captain Wilson aiming to hit England for six
- Amsterdam mayor 'ashamed' by 'unbearable' attacks on Israel football fans
- UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead
- England's Lawrence eager to face rising Wallabies star Suaalii
- Judge Spurs at end of the season, says Postecoglou
- Paris Olympic horses to be awarded military medals
- Flood-hit Spain drenched by wettest October on record
- Spain call up uncapped trio for Nations League
- INEOS Britannia named as challenger for 38th America's Cup
- Scarlets wing Murray set for Wales debut against Fiji
- Stocks falter tracking US, China policy updates
- Prince William reflects on 'brutal' year as Kate returns to public life
- After Trump win, EU leaders tackle 'urgent' reform agenda
- France expects massive slump in 2024 wine harvest
- Leaders condemn 'anti-Semitic' football clashes in Amsterdam
- China passes energy law to 'promote carbon neutrality'
- Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool
- Kagiyama leads Miura at NHK Trophy
- China unveils sweeping local govt debt swap to lift ailing economy
- Partial UN probe of Gaza war dead over 6 months shows 'nearly 70%' women, children
- 'Anti-government' samosa theft prompts India police probe
- Qantas plane returns to Australia airport due to 'engine failure'
- Ayub hits 82 as Pakistan crush Australia in 2nd ODI
- Russian drones, missiles pummel cities across Ukraine
- First artwork by humanoid robot sells for over $1.0 million
- China to raise local govt debt ceiling to boost struggling economy
- Climate change poses multiple risks for banks
- Boxing club helps fight Greenland's suicide scourge
- Retired Olympian Daley dives into the spool with Tokyo knitwear show
- Japanese organ builder 'honoured' to restore voice of Notre Dame
- Sony quarterly net profit jumps but forecast unchanged
- Asian markets struggle to maintain momentum after Fed cut
- Fur flies as Russia takes on young fans of 'quadrobics'
- Pharrell Williams to bring star power to Web Summit tech event
Nadal feared he would never play again after foot injury
Rafael Nadal said on Friday that his foot injury last year was so bad he thought he might never play tennis again.
The Spanish great is chasing a men's record 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, where he steamed into the fourth round with a four-set victory over Russian 28th seed Karen Khachanov.
Speaking after his 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory in a late-night match on Rod Laver Arena, the 35-year-old Spaniard laid bare the extent of the foot problem that ended his year on the tour in August.
Nadal suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot.
"First of all, everybody around me, me included of course, but everybody around me had a lot of doubts," he said, asked if towards the end of last year he feared he might not make it to Melbourne.
"Not (only) about Australian Open, no, but about coming back on the tour because the foot was bothering a lot of days.
"Of course, still today are doubts because the foot, as I said the other day, it is an injury we cannot fix... so we need to find a way that the pain is under control to play, to keep playing. That's the goal."
Nadal, who has seen the draw open up for him with the deportation of defending champion Novak Djokovic, dropped a set for the first time this week against Khachanov.
But he called it his best performance since returning to the tour at the start of the year.
Nadal will face unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the last 16.
"It's a very special week for me coming back from where I have been, every time I come back here to play is a very special thing," Nadal told the crowd, a nod to his foot issue.
"I had my best match so far without a doubt since I came back.
"I went through some very tough times in the last year and a half, but nights like this mean everything to me, that's a lot of energy in my pocket to keep going, keep fighting every single day."
The big-hitting Russian had no answers for the quality of Nadal's shotmaking in the opening two sets, with the Spaniard looking in sparkling form in the year's first major.
Just when it looked as though Nadal was about to have an early night, Khachanov fought back to take the third set and stop the Spaniard's momentum.
But Nadal bounced back with a break in the fourth set with a laser down-the-line backhand winner which prompted a screaming fist-pumping celebration.
It was all Nadal from there to take the match as he reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the 15th time. He won the title in 2009.
bur-pst/pi
H.Seidel--BTB