Andy set up a quarterfinal showdown with world No. 2 Rafael Nadal after dismissing Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

“It came down to the bigger points tonight” Andy conceded afterwards, and that was certainly the tale of the match. Where Mathieu squandered all five of his break point chances, Andy was able to convert both of his to help seal the victory in 1hr., 17mins.

Andy came out of the blocks fast under the lights on Centre Court, capitalizing on Mathieu’s nervous errors to race into a 3-0 lead. However, it wasn’t long before the World No. 14 settled into the match, and he had chances to level up the set at 4-2 as Andy found himself 15-40 down. By Andy’s own admission his serve wasn’t firing quite like the first round (where he fired 18 aces and dropped just 11 points), but it was big when he needed it tonight and two clutch serves helped alleviate the danger and earn him a 5-2 lead.

Despite Mathieu’s emerging threat, Andy didn’t lose his sense of humour and, when drawn well out of court with a fine forehand down the line by Mathieu at 40-0 in the ensuing game, he chucked his racquet along the baseline at an attempt to retrieve the sure winner that Mathieu hit to claim the game, earning a laugh from the crowd and a wry smile form himself.

Serving for the set at 5-3, Andy once again had to fend off tough competition from Mathieu who was finding his range from the back of the court and rifled a backhand winner to set up a break point chance. Yet another clutch serve from Andy, this time on the second serve, fended off the threat and he went on to close out the set after 35 minutes as Mathieu netted a forehand.

Mathieu had chances to stem Andy’s momentum early in the second set, earning more break point opportunities at 15-40. An ace from Andy (one of 12 he hit in the match) saved the first, but the Frenchman looked to have secured the second with Andy rooted well behind the baseline, defending a barrage of attack to his backhand However, he hung in there showing great fitness to keep retrieving every shot and was rewarded as a frustrated Mathieu finally netted. A rifling backhand from Andy went on to secure the game and 2-2.

At 3-3, Andy was presented with his first chance to break in the set, and in contrast to Mathieu, he held his nerve on the big point and was able to convert it for a 4-3 lead as the Frenchman sent a backhand wide.

Andy still had a few more tricks up his sleeve to thrill the Dubai crowd, who had stayed late to watch him in dipping temperatures, hitting a serve at 146mph when serving in the next game, which matches the tournament record that he set in his first round win against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Andy’s consistent serving proved key when he came to serve out the match, just as it had fared him well on all the big points in the match, an ace brought up two match points and he converted the first with another serve that Mathieu could not return in court.

Afterwards, Andy complemented the tournament on the hotel they have set him up in (read more details in his blog), and after joking that his room is very small (which we’re quite sure it isn’t!) he said: “I’d be stupid not to have fun here in Dubai, I’m enjoying myself.”

Such is the strength in depth of the Dubai field that Andy, seeded sixth, finds himself taking on Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard is through to the quarterfinals courtesy of victories over Philipp Kohlschreiber and qualifier Mikhail Ledovskikh.

Nadal is a former champion in Dubai, capturing the title in 2006 when he defeated Roger Federer in the final. The 21-year-old is searching for his first title of the season, having finished runner-up in Chennai and reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open.

Andy has played Nadal three times before, trailing their head-to-head series 1-2. Andy won their first meeting on hard court at the US Open in 2004; Nadal then went on to win their next two meetings, on clay in the 2004 Davis Cup final and then last year in Indian Wells.

Looking ahead to the match, Andy acknowledged that it’s going to be a difficult one to win: “It’s going to be fun, Nadal’s a great player. I’m going to have to play very well to get a win.”

The match will be played third on Centre Court on Thursday, starting not before 7pm local time (3pm GMT; 10am EST).

Stay tuned to andyroddick.com for all the latest news from Dubai.

Go, Andy!!