Rafael Nadal has found his tennis, his grit, and his confidence on court. The Spanish sensation defeated an always tricky Gael Monfils in the 4th round of the Australian Open 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4.
Everything looked extremely smooth for Rafa when he was leading 6-3 6-3 4-4, but eventually, a “bad” game gave a break to Monfils that brought the match to the 4th set. At that point, everything was possible because when the Frenchman is fired up, he can beat everyone on tour. In fact, Gael broke Rafa in the 6th game (2-4), but then, Rafa managed to dig deep and win for consecutive games to reach the quarters like a gladiator.
Gael is great for the sport. NADAL
“Gael is a special player; he plays some unbelievable shots, and is one of the more charismatic players on tour, he told Jim Courier in his on-court interview.
It’s a pleasure seeing him in the top positions; it’s great for our sport. I had a couple of chances in the third to have the break, but I didn’t [take them]. I didn’t play my best game at 4-4, and he had some huge serves.”
Next vs. Raonic
Rafa will face Milos Raonic in the quarters. The head to head is 6-2 for the Spaniard, but Raonic has won 2 of the las three matches and has recently defeated the Spaniard in Brisbane.
| THE GLADIATOR IS BACK |
