Relaxed Nadal moves toward another Grand Slam win

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If Rafael Nadal is getting nervous as he eases closer to winning his fourth consecutive Grand Slam, he sure isn't showing it.

After his 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win Thursday over American qualifier Ryan Sweeting, the Spanish star appeared as comfortable talking about his next match — against 18-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic — as he was in beating Sweeting so convincingly.

"Practice a little bit tomorrow, rest in the hotel, maybe going to the aquarium — I go every year. Nothing different," Nadal said, when asked about his preparations for Saturday's match.

Shrugging his shoulders and smiling, he added: "If I start getting nervous two days before a match, I have a big problem."

Nadal hasn't had any real problems in recent Grand Slams — Thursday's win was his 23rd in a row in majors going back to the first round of the French Open last year. Since then, he's carted back to his home in Majorca trophies from Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

A fourth from the Australian Open — the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup that he won in 2009 — would make him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once.

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