Confident Nadal in cruise control

On court celebrations are usually limited to a shake of the hand, but Rafael Nadal was instead treated to a peck on the cheek by an excitable fan.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal reacts after his fan shows their delight after his victory against Gael Monfils.

On court celebrations are usually limited to a shake of the hand, but Rafael Nadal was instead treated to a peck on the cheek after defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils as a male fan stormed the court to congratulate the Spaniard. Nadal, 23, laughed off the intrusion after a 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win to move into the quarter-finals. "For me it wasn't the problem. The guy was really nice," Nadal joked after the excitable man breached courtside security to embrace his hero.

"He was a great fan. He said, I love you, and he kissed me." A spot in the quarter-finals is a boost to the 2008 US Open semi- finalist who was sidelined for two months this season with a knee injury. "For sure it's an important match for the confidence," said Nadal, who looks to be returning to the form he displayed by winning the Australian Open earlier this year. "I'm in the quarter-finals, so that's very good news and very good result for me," he continued, "the knees are perfect. That's very important for me. It gives me lot of confidence."

Nadal's next opponent will be 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who defeated France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday to win a place in his second US Open quarter-final. Gonzalez, 29, was elated to reach the last eight in New York for the second time since 2002, declaring: "Sometimes you feel like a super hero". Monfils proved a gallant opponent, attacking each ball and forcing Nadal to battle hard.

While the Frenchman prevailed over his Spanish rival in the first set tie-breaker, Nadal was quick to stamp his authority in the second set, moving 5-3 ahead with little effort. Nadal continued to dominate in the third and blazed back from Monfils vain attempts to regain control of the match in the fourth, showing no signs of the abdominal injury that had needed on-court treatment during his third-round match on Sunday.