26th of January

Rafa Nadal only needed 1 hour and 55 minutes to book a ticket into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after beating Chilean Fernando Gonzales 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Rafa was in great form during the whole match, and only went down a break in the third set after some incredible shot-making by the Chilean. From there, Rafa rallied back into the match to win five straight games and eventually held to claim the victory.

Rafa was very happy with the way he played, especially from the baseline. He’s particularly happy with his forehands and backhands, however, he thinks he could improve his serve a bit more. “It wasn't very bad, but I think I was serving better the last matches”.

What about the playing conditions?

Rafa certainly doesn’t like the shadow that covers up the court when the sun starts to set. “That's terrible, no?  All the time was good, but when the shadow came in the third set, was very tough.  Very, very difficult to see the ball.  A lot of distraction”.

What about the weather forecast for the week?

For those that don’t know, it will be the hottest week in the Australian Open history with 3 days set to reach 40 degrees. But Rafa doesn’t seem to mind, he knows “it will be the same for my opponent…you just have to hang in there”. He said at the press conference.

Rafa’s next opponent is the number 6 seed, Frenchman Gilles Simon who classified into the quarterfinals of the Open after his friend and compatriot, Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.

Rafa and Simon have played 3 times in the past, with Rafa coming out on top in their head-to-head stats by 2 victories against 1. They played in Madrid (2008), Australian Open (2008) and Marseille (2006) - All hard court events.

Their last meeting in the ATP Madrid Master Series in 2008, went to Simon after a three set battle. 

Vamos Rafael!