The pair swapped breaks in the third but Murray made the decisive break at 4-3 to win in one hour and 50 minutes.

"He taught me a lesson last year and I'm happy to come through, " said Murray. "My whole game is better and physically and mentally I'm stronger. I felt like I served really well and had a bit of rhythm going. I haven't dropped a set all tournament and that was by far the best I have played."

Murray has often spoken of his desire to play two-time French Open champion Nadal and his performance against Chela showed just how much it meant to him.

The 19-year-old Scot shifted his mood from calm composure to fiery outbursts as the tempo of the match dictated.

Murray had struggled to find his range, making 17 unforced errors in the first set, and looked to be making little impact on the Chela serve until the Argentine's own mistakes let him in.

The 15th seed looked rattled as he squandered four set points in the eighth game but he rallied himself with a stiff talking-to as he closed out the set in 34 minutes.

Murray played a controlled and patient second set, and was successful with 76 percent of his first serves.

Some careful defensive play and slashing forehands then saw the Scot break Chela twice as he notched up five straight games to move into a two-set lead.

A fired-up Murray broke Chela immediately in the third but then conceded the break in the next game as his urgency manifested itself in rants directed at his coach Brad Gilbert. In an intense set, with flashes of high-quality tennis, the duo traded breaks once again before the Scot stole ahead at 4-3 and closed out the match with an unreturnable serve to set up his dream meeting with Nadal on Monday.

"I can't wait, " said Murray, who used to practice with Nadal when he trained in Barcelona. He's someone I look up to. He's won two Grand Slams and is the next best player to Roger Federer.

I'm really excited and if I can play like I did tonight then I think I can keep it pretty close."

Fernando Gonzalez beat 19th seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-4 to end home hopes in the Australian Open.

Hewitt's exit means there will be no Australians in the fourth round for the first time since 2002.

Gonzalez, the 10th seed, made just two unforced errors as he swept into a twoset lead.

Hewitt recovered to take the third but quickly fell a break behind in the fourth and, despite saving three match points, could not respond again.

Before Hewitt took to the Rod Laver Arena, Alicia Molik, the last remaining Australian female in the tournament, was dumped out 3-6 6-2 6-0 by Patty Schnyder.

Hewitt had not enjoyed the best build-up to his home tournament, splitting with his coach Roger Rasheed and picking up a calf injury.

And he could find no answer to Gonzalez's combination of powerful hitting and delicate touches.

"If he's playing like that it's a matter of trying to weather the storm, there's not a whole lot you can do, " said Hewitt, runner-up to Marat Safin in 2005.

Gonzalez now faces fifth seed James Blake for a place in the quarter-finals.

"I don't remember if I have played a better tennis match because I played unbelievable for the first two sets and I was doing whatever I wanted with the ball, " Gonzalez said.