Rafael Nadal has a really good chance of reaching the finals of the Australian Open this year after Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic both got eliminated from the tournament. But Nadal will have to get past Frenchman Gael Monfils first as the Spaniard is looking for his first Grand Slam final in nine attempts.
Also read: World Tennis schedule 2017
Rafael Nadal has not been at his best for quite some time now, but early signs from his performances in the Australian Open so far suggest that the Spaniard could be back to his best. Nadal defeated Florian Mayer in his first round match and then Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, but in his most recent victory in the third round, he was really made to work hard.
The 19-year-old German, Alexander Zverev Jr. really pushed Nadal to the limit winning the first set 6-4. Nadal responded well, winning the second set 6-3, but lost the third set in the tiebreaker. Then Nadal would go on to win the last two sets with relative ease and despite Zverev picking up a cramp, he still did not give up till the last minute.
Rafael Nadal has said the addition of Carlos Moya has been a key factor to his improved performances having slightly changed his training regime.
"Moya has clarity about my playing style. We have played each other a few times and practiced together tons of times. Moya has come with some new exercises. Since Carlos has arrived, we are doing less and doing more specific things," Tennis.com quoted him as saying.
Carlos Moya who coached Milos Raonic before teaming up with Nadal said this is the way he likes to coach believing in a lot of specific training.
"I believe a lot in specifics training. It's something I used with Raonic, and adapting a lot of those exercises to Nadal is important because they are completely distinct players. We want to focus a lot on the repetition of what you have to do in matches," Moya was quoted as saying.
Gael Monfils has had a decent tournament so far in the Australian Open dropping only one set against Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round. Monfils will be looking to match his best performance in the Australian Open, when he reached the quarterfinal last year. However, the Frenchman has a bad record against Nadal winning on 2 matches out of 12 that they have played.
Despite that record, Gael Monfils had really stepped up his game in the past year and Rafael Nadal will have to be at his best against the Frenchman. Monfils said that this match will be really tough and that he will have to rely on free points on the serve. He also described Rafael Nadal as a warrior and a legend who marked tennis history.
'He will try to play his game, make me move and play backhands as much as possible. For me it will be important to get free points on serve. It will be very tough; everyone knows that Rafa is a legend and a warrior that practiced much before coming here. When I hear "Rafa is not Rafa anymore," I say that you need to be careful when you say it. You cannot disrespect him, he marked tennis history. I will try my best against him," Monfils was quoted as saying.
When to Watch Live
Nadal vs Monfils Australian Open fourth round contest is set to begin at 7pm local time (1.30pm IST, 8am GMT, and 3am ET). Below are the TV and live streaming information.
India: TV: Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv and Yupp TV.
UK: TV: EuroSport. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.
Australia: TV: Channel 7. Live Streaming: 7 Live.
USA: TV: ESPN 3. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
