Top-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal advanced to the Rogers Cup quarterfinals, beating Argentina's Guido Pella 6-3, 6-4 in the wind Thursday night.

"A tough day in terms of wind. But we are used to playing like this," Nadal said. "When we play on outdoor courts, that's part of the game, too. Of course it is better to play without this kind of wind.

"At the same time, it is beautiful to play under tough conditions because then the player who has different options to play has better chances to survive these kind of days. It's about adapting and being focused mentally. Of course, I prefer to play without these conditions, but in some way I enjoy."

The winner last year in Toronto for his fourth title in the event, Nadal won his 379th ATP Masters 1000 match to break a tie with Roger Federer for the record. Nadal has 82 singles victories, winning the French Open in June for his second title of the year.

In the quarterfinals, the 33-year-old Spanish star will face seventh-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy. Fognini beat France's Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 7-5.

"He's having a great season, one of the best of his career, if not the best," Nadal said. "I need to be playing well. I think today I played better than yesterday, so I hope tomorrow I continue with this improvement. That's what I need if I want to keep having chances to be through."

Sixth-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia beat Montreal teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-3 in the afternoon at windy and raucous IGA Stadium.

Celebrating his 19th birthday, Auger-Aliassime was undone by 12 double faults and a series of mistakes. After the match, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to Auger-Aliassime, while a video featuring fellow pros also passing on their greetings played on the big screens.

"For sure frustrated because it was a big occasion," he said. "There was a lot of expectations, pressure, you name it. It's tough to see it slip away, but there's reason for that. It just means that I still have things to improve to win these type of matches and to deal better with these type of moments."

Khachanov set up a quarterfinal match against third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (5) winner over Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Tied 7-7 in the tiebreaker, Khachanov sent a shot into the net on serve and then fired another ball over the second deck and out of the venue in frustration at the crowd cheering his mistakes, which led to loud boos.

"I cannot deny that I got a little bit crazy," Khachanov said. "But I'm really a bit disappointed ... with the crowd as well. I don't have anything against when they cheer for Felix. It's normal. He's the home favorite, especially from Montreal. I wish they could cheer the same way in Russia for me. But still, not when I miss or not wishing me to miss, screaming during the points. It's disrespectful."

Second-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria beat Marin Cilic of Croatoa 7-6 (7), 6-4. Coming off a victory on clay in Austria for his third title of the year, Thiem will face eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Cristian Garin of Chile.

Tenth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and No. 16 Gael Monfils of France won late matches to set up the final quarterfinal. Bautista Agut edged Richard Gasquet of France 7-5, 7-5, and Monfils beat Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4, 6-0.

 

Serena Williams reaches Rogers Cup quarters in Toronto

Serena Williams won for the second straight night at the Rogers Cup, beating Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals.

Playing her first event since losing the Wimbledon final, Williams opened with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elise Mertens of Belgium on Wednesday. The 37-year-old Williams won the event in 2001, 2011 and 2013 —all in Toronto — and has a match record of 32-4.

"I definitely feel like it takes a while to get back into the rhythm, because we've had a long season of just clay and then grass, and now we're on hard courts," Williams said. "So it definitely feels different, especially for me now. Usually I don't feel that huge of a difference, but for whatever reason I do this year."

The eighth-seeded Williams will face No. 2 Naomi Osaka of Japan, a 7-6 (4), 6-4 winner over Polish qualifier Iga Swiatek in the late match.

"I'm feeling good," Williams said. "Just hopefully just being able to stay in the rhythm and playing this week and next week would be good."

Alexandrova staved off 12 break points, but she was broken five times and had 11 double-faults.

"She hit really, really hard and she was hitting a lot of winners," Williams said. "So I was just happy that I was able to just fight through that."

Third-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic advanced to the afternoon, beating Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-3, 7-5. In position to reclaim the top spot in the world ranking this week, Pliskova set up a match against Bianca Andreescu of Canada.

Pliskova finished off Kontaveit in two sets after taking three against American Alison Riske on Wednesday.

"For sure better than it was maybe yesterday," Pliskova said. "So I guess it's going to get better every day with what I play. And I always was, I am, improving with matches."

Andreescu beat fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-4.

The 19-year-old Andreescu, from nearby Mississauga, improved to 5-0 against top-10 opponents this year. A right shoulder injury has limited her to four events since May.

"Being off for that long and coming into the Rogers Cup and getting into the quarterfinals means so much to me," Andreescu said. "And this time off actually helped me. I figured a lot of things out — and it's showing on court."

Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, making her first start since beating Williams for the Wimbledon title, beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-2, 6-1. Halep will face Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova, a 6-2, 6-2 winner at night over Latvia's Jalena Ostapenko.

American Sofia Kenin beat Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-2. Kenin beat top-ranked Ashleigh Barty in the previous round. In the quarterfinals, Kenin will face sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.