Rafael Nadal vs. Kevin Anderson: Score, Reaction from 2015 Australian Open

Even though it took him a little while into the first set before finding his footing, Rafael Nadal cruised to a victory in the fourth round of the 2015 Australian Open. He knocked off No. 14 seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.

The win pushes Nadal into the quarterfinals and moves him one step closer to playing in his third Australian Open final in four years. His opponent will be No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych, via ATP World Tour:

Despite the slow start, it seemed easy to predict Nadal's win after he won the first set. based on his history. Greg Sharko provided the evidence on Twitter to back up that claim:

As Sharko's stat also shows, Nadal didn't have his best serve going. He was able to move into the lead thanks to his return game and by moving Anderson all over the court. That could be a good thing moving forward in this tournament, as he knows it's possible to beat a quality opponent without having your A-game. 

Of course, it's a lesson Nadal may have already learned in this tournament. He needed five sets in the second round to get by Tim Smyczek. He bounced back in the third round against Dudi Sela, telling ESPN's Jim Courier after the match, via Phil Casey of The Daily Mail, the secret to his success:

"

I don't like to sleep a lot. I feel when I am sleeping I am losing time.

(But) I have to this time, to be relaxed and try to rest a little bit. It's a big thing for me to be in the fourth round of the Australian Open after not having much chance to be on the tour. Kevin has a big serve and is a dangerous player.

"

There you have it, kids. One of the keys to being a great tennis player is sleeping a lot. It may take a little more than that, though Nadal didn't talk about it. 

Per the Australian Open on Twitter, Nadal's performance in the second set was more of a vintage effort for the 28-year-old:

There was a brief moment of levity in the match, as Nadal's water bottle fell over following a gust of wind. Here's what happened when the ball boy tried to put it back in the exact precise spot it used to be, via the Australian Open:

On the losing side, the sad part for Anderson is that he had every opportunity to take control of this match. He was the better player in the first set but couldn't close things out when he had the serve. The second set was just a dreadful showing, as noted by Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times:

The final suggests that Nadal dominated the match, which you can argue he did, but Anderson helped him out a lot. Per Live Tennis, in the second set that Nadal won 6-1, there wasn't a lot of difference between the two with the exception of winners and unforced errors:

"

#RafaelNadal steamrolls #KevinAnderson in 2nd set, taking it 6-1. Any way back for Big Kev? http://t.co/m1A8rPU7M4 pic.twitter.com/bdX6vgnoIY

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 25, 2015"

It's clear that Nadal isn't all the way back from his injury-plagued 2014 season, but the fact that he's still fighting in the Australian Open suggests his feet will come back under him soon. Moving into the quarterfinals will provide another formidable test, which means he can't have another sloppy effort like this one.

With Berdych waiting in the wings after his own straight-sets victory in the fourth round, Nadal can't afford another slow start like he had in this match. Anderson has a big serve, but he gave away the match in virtually every other way.