Rafael Nadal: Why Rafa Will Annihilate Australian Open 2012 Competiton

The 2012 Australian Open is under way, and this year it's going to be Rafael Nadal that shines the brightest. 

Having already cruised through his first-round matchup, Nadal will keep the ball rolling to win it all. He had complained about pain in his knee leading up the match, but showed no signs of it, beating Alex Kuznetsov, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. 

As the current No. 2 player in the world, Nadal will take the necessary steps to not only thrive in this Grand Slam event, but also the others. 

The 2011 season was dominated by Novak Djokovic, but he will fail to live up to his stellar season. This is where Nadal comes in and steals the show.

It all starts with the 2012 Australian Open.

Nadal is the No. 2 seed for this tournament, meaning the path to the winning the Grand Slam is much easier than others.

Even though Nadal and Roger Federer are on the same draw, it will not hurt the Spaniard in his quest for the 2012 Australian Open title.  

Nadal has owned Federer, going 17-9 in their head-to-head matches. If the two meet in the semifinals like expected, it will be another thrilling match, but Nadal will be victorious. He knows he can shut down Federer, and that's exactly what he'll do. 

Having only one the Australian Open once, Nadal is striving to add another Grand Slam title to his résumé. 

Nadal will likely meet Djokovic in the finals, which would certainly be an intense match. However, in the end, Nadal will be the winner because he wants it more. 

He saw all the success Djokovic had last season, and he wants to have his own run of dominance over the sport. It begins with the 2012 Australian Open, which is why Nadal will be victorious this year. 

Nadal is extremely motivated to get the job done, as well as get revenge over Djokovic for beating him in 2011, and that is why he will destroy the competition at the 2012 Australian Open.