Rafael Nadal Shines In His Win Over Ivo Karlovic

He's back! Those words are probably the best description of Rafael Nadal's performance in his fourth round match-up against unseeded Ivo Karlovic. As most will recall, in Nadal's last match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, he was not himself. However, he was still able to hold on for the win. But, we all knew that in order to continue toward a repeat in Melbourne, he had to find his A-game—and find it he did.

The opening set found both men playing quite well. You could tell that they both came with the same goal in mind—winning this match. Karlovic continued his streak of aces. In fact, his 100th ace put him up 4-3. But Nadal refused to let his guard down. He struck right back and evened things out at 4-4. Karlovic continued to play well, but Nadal played better, ending the set with a 6-4 win.

Now, in the second set, it appeared that Nadal's game took a backseat. He had difficulty keeping pace with Karlovic's use of various areas of the court. It also appeared that his distance from the baseline was costing him on Karlovic's serves. And finally, Karlovic's love for playing at the net, forcing Nadal to move inward for the plays, impacted Nadal's performance. Karlovic wrapped up the set, 6-4.

But, once again, Nadal came back strong in the third set. He defined why he has either been ranked No. 1 or No. 2. It was clear that though he lost the second set, he used it as a teaching tool, studying Karlovic's techniques.

Immediately, Nadal was showing flexibility in his movement around the court, and he was moving in more on Karlovic's serves. He had some spectacular moments serving, playing the net, and returning. Despite 27 aces by Karlovic, Nadal captured the win, 6-4.

The fourth set was the icing on the cake for Nadal. He continued to play great tennis—continuing to serve well, return well, and play the court. It was easy to see that the advantages that Karlovic had early on were all but a distant memory. Nadal saw the finish line and nothing was going to stop him. In the end, Nadal breezed to victory, 6-4.

Nadal moves on to his 14th career major quarterfinal match. He will face the No. 5 seed Andy Murray. He goes in with a 7-2 record against Murray. The world watches as Nadal continues his bid for a second straight Australian Open title.