Spain 1 Germany 0. Without ever needing to summon his “A” game, Rafael Nadal disposed of Nicolas Kiefer in straight sets in the twilight of the Centre Court last night. After taking an hour and seven minutes to claim the first set, Nadal reeled off the last two for the loss of just five games in barely 70 minutes, earning a fourth-round tie tomorrow against Mikhail Youzhny, who beat Radek Stepanek in five sets.

“I played a good tie-break and I’m just happy to make it through the first week,” said the No 2 seed after his 7-6 6-2 6-3 victory. Reflecting on that first week, where he consistently upped his game, Nadal said: “I am doing well, only losing one set. From now on, I know that I am going to have a tough time.

“I’m happy for my win and, for sure, tomorrow’s match will be important too,” added the Spaniard, referring to his nation’s hopes in the Euro 2008 final against Germany tonight. “I’m very confident because we have an unbelievable team. If we are not confident right now with this team, we are never going to be confident. I think we have good chances for a win.”

Nadal thrives on the energy of the crowd and his strokemaking matched the anti-climax after Andy Murray’s defeat of Tommy Haas. Indeed, if Roger Federer can bare to watch his nemesis out of business hours, he might care to watch the way the 30-year-old German worked the ball around Nadal’s ferocious groundstrokes and lured him into playing a softly, softly game utterly foreign to his nature. Allied to some powerful serving and good tactical variety, Kiefer gave Nadal, who has defeated him twice without the loss of a set this season, a good run for his money. At least until the tie-break in the first set. Thereafter it was murder.

So let’s concentrate on that first set, which was level pegging for 90% of the way. There were only two break points, one for each man, and if anything the German dug deeper into Nadal’s service than vice-versa.

Kiefer is a clever player, not unlike his countryman Haas, irritating in his way because his tennis can be shot through with both brilliance and a terrible diffidence. He had a chance to break at 30-30 in the sixth game of the set and did everything right in manoeuvring Nadal out wide before dumping his volley into the bottom of the net. Another unforced error on the forehand cost him the possibility of a break.

Kiefer has been on tour for a decade now and knows his own game inside out, too well perhaps because, at times, he seems content to accept his place as one of the tour’s enigmas and an occasional impostor in the closing stages of a Grand Slam. He is a player to be avoided, if possible, early in the draw but not, like Marat Safin, one to be feared. Still, for almost a set, Kiefer thrived, serving intelligently and keeping Nadal off balance as if the Spaniard was disconcerted by the strength of the German’s challenge.

In hindsight, Kiefer had one chance to put pressure on the No 2 seed. One point, in fact, which came in the eighth game of the opening set. It came out of the blue, as Nadal went from the security of 40-0 to deuce, the German benefiting from a rare Nadal double-fault and a beautifully constructed point as Keifer put away a volley into an open court after pulling his opponent wide on the forehand. Break point to Kiefer, the pressure momentarily on the favourite.

Enter the real Nadal, the Nadal who has lost one match since early April while winning titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Hamburg, Paris and, most impressively of all, at Queen’s, the first Spaniard to win a grass-court tournament since Andres Gimeno, Manuel Santana’s contemporary, in 1972, the Nadal who has noticed the look in the eye of Tiger Woods at moments of real pressure and who likes what he sees. Like Andre Agassi, who used to surprise opponents on critical points by serving and volleying, Nadal swung his serve wide and hustled to the net to sweep away the volley. And, for Kiefer, that was pretty well his only glimpse of a future on Centre Court.

Nadal gained confidence from surviving the minor crisis and Kiefer seemed to realise all too clearly the true balance of power. The crowd, soporific in the encroaching shadow, sensed the significance of the tie-break, certainly for the underdog.

The tie-break was no contest. Kiefer’s serve, so reliable for an hour, fell horribly to pieces, Nadal moved into a new gear and Kiefer’s desperation was betrayed in the two unforced errors that ultimately cost him the tie-break 7-3 and, with almost indecent haste, the match.

There was barely time to observe how cleverly the perennial French Open champion adapts his strengths to the different demands of grass, albeit slower and higher-bouncing grass than in the days of Bjorn Borg, the last man to win the French and Wimbledon titles successively.

In particular, Nadal has sharpened his footwork, adding little semi-steps to the intimidating giant strides. Several times, Kiefer’s raking flat forehands had the 22-year-old scrambling for position, but very rarely is he beaten completely on the baseline and even more rarely is he hustled into an error by the weight of his opponent’s shot. Nadal so often finds a way to recover and then is able to switch from defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Once on top in a point, there is no escape, as Federer found out so devastatingly on the clay of Paris.

Out on Court 2, Stepanek and Youzhny were engaged in a lengthy struggle to win the right to be Nadal’s opponent in the last 16. You wanted to tap them on the shoulder and tell them not to bother, for though both are talented players, neither would appear to have the armoury to stop Nadal’s march towards a third successive final against Federer.

Youzhny, a 26-year-old Russian, ranked 17, pulled the short straw. Richard Gasquet or Murray, potential quarter-final opponents, have the talent to test the Spaniard. Whether either of them has the mental and physical strength is another matter.

Nadal, for one, is highly supportive of Murray’s credentials, if not now then certainly for the future. “He can win every tournament because he has the talent to do anything,” said the Spaniard. “I think he is doing very well here because he seems in a very positive frame of mind. I saw him play today before my match and he is all the time supporting himself.”

Kiefer could summon neither intensity or resolve long enough in the gloom. His collapse was as much in the mind as the body.

Serving for the match at 5-1, Nadal lost his serve. Kiefer was exultant, smiling for the first time and punching the air. Nadal was furious. He had wasted valuable energy and time.

He can afford no such slip-ups this week.