Rafael Nadal recorded his fifth straight victory – and 13th win overall in 15 meetings – against Gael Monfils at the Australian Open in just under three hours on Monday night for a place in his 30th Grand Slam championship quarter-final.
Ninth seed Nadal, who beat Roger Federer for the 2009 title, improved to 49-10 at Melbourne Park with a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over fellow 30-year-old Monfils, the No. 6 seed from France. The 30 year old’s win denied Monfils his 250th tour-level match win on hard courts and gave the Spanish superstar his first Grand Slam victory over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since beating then No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic in the 2014 Roland Garros final.
Nadal experienced little resistance from Monfils through the first two sets, but when he hit a double fault and three unforced errors at 4-4 in the third set the encounter turned on its head. Monfils, also a crowd favourite in Melbourne, broke and saved four break points en route to clinching the 48-minute set. Although Nadal, struggled at times for groundstroke fluency, he performed well on serve and, courtesy of two service breaks in the fourth set, kept alive his chances of clinching a 15th major championship crown.
“I had chances to break in the third set,” said Nadal, during an on-court interview. “I didn’t play my best game at 4-4. You are [then] under pressure against a player like him. [In the fourth set] I think against Gael, I made a few mistakes in a row and played a good backhand on the break point.
“I’m very happy being in the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam after a couple of years without being there. It is very special for me and especially here in Australia, where it feels a little like home. The crowd is always supporting me.”
Nadal has a 6-2 advantage over his next opponent, World No. 3 Milos Raonic, in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but Raonic won their most recent clash, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp 16 days ago.
“I have to play very, very well, that’s the only way,” said Nadal. “He beat me a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane. It was a tough game. He’s a top player with an amazing serve, so I need to be focused with my serve and wait for opportunities on my return.”
Monfils, now on a six-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents, reflected, “I think I really struggled with my return. I could not make enough returns at the beginning of the match. So that was a little bit inconvenience… It would have been a big help to have a better serve. I couldn’t reach all the spots at the beginning. [There was] not much accuracy. So it was just a battle to get back. Rafa fought, [and] found the way to fight. I would say he is a true champion so he deserves the match… I think he’s playing great. He’s a great returner… He’s on top of his game.
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The accreditation for national and international media must be done through the website from January 9th, 2023 until February 10th, 2023. It´s important to mention that under no circumstances will media applications be received after the closing date.
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1. Websites
Websites that are associated with any other print, television or radio media that have previously applied for creditation may be credited proven they meet the necessary requirements.
A maximum of one (1) web journalist without a photographer may be credited. A website (imagenshop.com) will be available for downloading graphic and audiovisual content during and after the event. This material can be downloaded free of charge and will be available to all.
The applicant must submit audited traffic data of the last two years (expressed as unique IP addresses per year).
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3. Television
A maximum of one (1) reporter, one (1) cameraman and one (1) editor may be credited.
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ATTENTION
Organizing Committee
MEDIA OFFICER
América Jiménez
La acreditación de medios nacionales e internacionales deberá realizarse a través de la página de internet a partir del 9 de Enero de 2023 hasta el 10 de Febrero de 2023. Es importante mencionar que bajo ninguna circunstancia se recibirán aplicaciones de medios después de la fecha de cierre.
Todas las solicitudes de acreditación para medios nacionales e internacionales deben cumplir con los siguientes requisitos establecidos por Mextenis:
Una vez realizado el pre-registro en línea, recibirás un correo electrónico de confirmación con la información (dirección, horarios y días) y datos para recoger tu acreditación. Deberás presentar una identificación oficial.
El realizar el pre-registro no garantiza que la solicitud sea aceptada.
1. Websites
Los sitios web que estén asociados con algún otro medio impreso, televisivo o radiofónico que haya solicitado acreditación previamente, podrán ser acreditados siempre y cuando cumplan con los requisitos necesarios.
Se podrá acreditar como máximo un (1) periodista web sin fotógrafo. Se contará con un sitio web (imagenshop.com) donde podrán tener acceso para descargar contenido gráfico y audiovisual, durante y posterior al evento. Este material se podrá descargar sin costo y estará disponible para todos.
El solicitante debe presentar las cifras de tráfico auditadas de los últimos dos años (expresadas como direcciones IP únicas por año).tante debe presentar las cifras de tráfico auditadas de los últimos dos años (expresadas como direcciones IP únicas por año).
2. Radio
Se acreditará únicamente a (1) reportero.
3. Televisión
Se podra acreditar como maximo un (1) reportero, un (1) camarografo y un (1) editor
Las televisoras que deseen acreditarse deben contemplar el siguiente reglamento:
4. Medios impresos
Se acreditará (1) reportero y (1) fotógrafo.
5. Agencias
Se acreditará (1) reportero y (1) fotógrafo.
CARTA DE NOTIFICACIÓN
Una vez completado el registro de forma correcta, recibirás un correo de notificación la cual confirma que se recibieron correctamente los datos y que la solicitud está en proceso de aprobación.
Cada solicitud se atiende de forma personal, por lo que no se tiene un tiempo estimado para la respuesta a cada una de ellas.
Si tu solicitud es aprobada, recibirás un correo electrónico con un CODIGO DE PRE-REGISTRO EN LINEA (este código es personal e intransferible, ya que tiene accesos particulares y debe coincidir con el nombre de la solicitud).
Este código deberá ser ingresado en un link que a su vez recibirás en tu correo de confirmación para finalizar el proceso de registro y así recibir tu carta de acreditación, la cual indicará la fecha, lugar y horario en la que tendrás que recoger tu acreditación.
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