On Monday, world No. 1 and top seed Rafael Nadal will start his Australian campaign against the 83rd-ranked Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic. They have never played before.
Date: 15 January 2018
Match time: 7 PM local time (AEST) / 3 AM EST – New York, Montreal / 8 AM GMT – United Kingdom /9 AM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa, 2009 champion, is bidding to reach the 2nd round at the Australian Open for the 12th time. This is his 13th appearance in Melbourne and his 51st Grand Slam overall.
Rafa has a 51-11 record at the major and will be contesting his first tournament of 2018. He is s bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the third man in history – to win each of the 4 Grand Slam titles twice. Australian legend Rod Laver completed the feat with titles before and after the Open Era began on 22 April 1968.
Our champ is looking to win his 17th Grand Slam title and close the gap on Roger Federer in the list of all-time Grand Slam title holders. He is currently 2nd with on the list behind Federer (19).
Rafa’s best performance at the Australian Open is winning the title in 2009 (d. Federer). He also reached the final in 2012 (losing to Djokovic in the longest men’s Grand Slam final on record at 5 hours, 53 minutes), and in 2014 (lost to Stan Wawrinka), and 2017 (lost to Federer).
No. 1 on Line: Federer will regain the No. 1 ranking if he wins his sixth Australian Open title and Rafa loses before the quarter-finals. Otherwise, Rafa will remain World No. 1.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
The best of luck sweet Rafa 🍀❤️🤗
VAMOOS CHAMP! 🎾💪🏼😘🥇👑
Buena suerte mi campeon VAMOS RAFA por el 17
I wish Rafa would have played on Monday last year! I believe the extra day of rest for Roger ended up being the difference. I actually think both semis should be played on the same day. Does anyone know how the organizers decide which half of the draw goes first?
And don’t forget Fed’s conveniently-timed medical time out.
RAFA ROCKS SLEEVELESS
Please note Rafael Nadal is 2009 champion and not 2008 as mentioned in the article. These are basic info which should never be quoted wrongly…
Good luck on monday Rafa.
Well done Rafa and all the best for Monday,
love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
Good luck champ.
Rafa good luck I know you can do it play aggressive ,don’t back down