Rome, May 15 (IANS): Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka eliminated his Austrian opponent Dominic Thiem with a 7-6, 6-4 victory, advancing to the Italian Open quarter-finals to meet Spain's Rafael Nadal.

The upcoming quarter-final will be the 14th clash between the Swiss and the Spaniard, with the latter winning on 12 occasions and Wawrinka winning once, in the 2014 Australian Open, reports Efe.

"I accept all the challenges that the tour presents me, having some good weeks and some bad weeks, but always with the motivation to find the right way again," Rafa said following his match with U.S. player John Isner earlier on Thursday.

Nadal also added that he believes he "played very well" on Thursday, and he remarked: "It seems like I'm having much more good days than bad days."

Nadal arrived in Rome following his defeat in the Madrid Open final against Andy Murray, and began his Italian quest as the world's seventh ranked player, his worst position in the last decade.

Nadal has won the Italian open seven times before, in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.