Rafael Nadal: Rafa Showing No Ill Effect from Injuries at Australian Open

Any and all reports of Rafael Nadal's rapid demise appear to be just a tad premature, at least if his performance thus far at the 2012 Australian Open holds any weight.

Rafa finds himself back in the fourth round at Melbourne Park after ripping through Alex Kuznetsov (6-4, 6-1, 6-1), Tommy Haas (6-4, 6-3, 6-4) and Lukas Lacko (6-2, 6-4, 6-2).  

This, despite coming into the first Grand Slam event of the year with persistent knee and shoulder problems, ones that have caused him enough discomfort to employ the use of a cart to move his gear from place to place.

Of course, rousing success in the early rounds is hardly a reliable indicator of Nadal's fitness to come out ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at tournament's end. Nadal has long been expected to cut right through the lower rungs of any field he's in before running into worthy challengers (i.e. the other two legs of the "Trivalry") in the quarters and the semis. 

Then again, there's no discounting just how fluid, fast and freewheeling Rafa has looked on the court to this point. If he's in pain, he certainly isn't showing it.

And if he's not, all the better for him—and all the worse for the rest of the field.

The question is, will Nadal be able to keep this up? Or will his injury woes catch up to him on the way to a flameout in or before the tournament final?

We'll have a much better idea when Nadal faces off with either John Isner or Feliciano Lopez in the Round of 16.

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