Nadal is the only former major champion left in the men's field following the elimination of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, leaving him as the clear frontrunner in his pursuit of a 19th major title.
Andreescu, a 19-year-old from suburban Toronto, downed 25th seed Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to book a Thursday clash against fellow Slam semifinal debutante Bencic, the Swiss 13th seed who beat Croatian 23rd seed Donna Vekic 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Out-of-favour Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to hold himself responsible if the club are not in the running for the Premier League title this season.
The 27-year-old replaces Jon-Jon Smuts who has been withdrawn from the tour after failing to meet the team’s fitness standards.
The two-legged qualifier had ended goalless after 120 minutes on Tuesday night.
The team leaves for the sub-continent on Friday ahead of three T20s and three Test matches.
Smith, a shining light for the tourists on a dull day in Manchester, was 60 not out in a stumps total of 170-3 on a rain-marred first day of the fourth Test where only 44 overs out of a scheduled 90 were bowled.
The last time the teams met, hitherto tournament no-hopers Japan stunned the Springboks 34-32 on the English south coast in their opening game of the 2015 World Cup – an upset of such seismic proportions a movie about it has just been released.
Botswana beat South Africa 3-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the next round qualifiers.
The Italy international is likely to return in March, meaning he could be fit for the Champions League quarter-finals if Juventus make it that far.
