Rafael Nadal Australian Open 2018 draw: Who is the Spaniard set to play?
RAFAEL NADAL fell agonisingly short in the final of the Australian Open last year, and will be desperate to avoid the same fate again.
Rafael Nadal will hope to go one step further than 2017 when he lost in the Australian Open final
Nadal led 3-1 in the deciding set of the final against Roger Federer, only to lose five straight games and end up on the wrong side of a Melbourne final for the third time in his career.
He had also gone to five in the semi-final, beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in a match that last nearly five hours.
And having also been pushed to the wire by Alexander Zverev in the third round, Nadal did anything but breeze through the draw.
So who could cause problems for the world No 1 this time around?
Rafael Nadal Australian Open 2018 draw
(bold indicates predicted opponent)
First round (confirmed): Victor Estrella Burgos
Second round (possible): Nicolas Jarry, Leonardo Mayer
Third round (possible): John Millman, Borna Coric, Paolo Lorenzi, Damir Dzumhur
Fourth round (possible): Diego Schwartzman, Dusan Lajovic, Qualifier, Qualifier, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Andreas Haider-Maurer, Matthew Ebden, John Isner
Quarter-final (possible):
Semi-final (possible):
Final (possible):