Rafael Nadal Awaiting His First Test at Australian Open

So far at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal has done everything in his power to prove his doubters wrong. Despite all the whispers that could be heard about Rafa breaking down at the start of the tournament, Nadal has looked just fine.

Most recently, Nadal scored yet another straight-sets victory in the third round against Lukas Lacko, beating him 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Lacko came into the match with plenty of momentum after beating Ivan Ljubicic and Donald Young, but he was no match for Nadal.

So that makes it three rounds and three straight-sets victories for Nadal. The only player who has come close to challenging him thus far was Tommy Haas in the second round, but even then Nadal looked like a far superior player.

To this point, the biggest challenge Nadal has faced in Melbourne happened in his hotel room before the start of the tournament. That was where, according to Yahoo! Sports, Nadal hurt his right knee while sitting in a chair.

He's still wrapping his right knee quite heavily for matches, but it doesn't seem to be hindering him at all. Rafa is moving very well, and he's making all the shots we're used to seeing him make.

At this rate, you have to figure Nadal is a lock to reach the quarterfinals, and the semifinals and the final are legit possibilities too.

But a worthy challenger is coming, make no mistake about that. Though Nadal has been outstanding in the first three rounds, it only gets more difficult from here on out. There are still plenty of great players left in the field, including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

It's a good bet that Nadal will come up against at least one of them, and it's entirely possible he will have to dispatch both of them if he wants to win his second Australian Open title.

But Nadal can't afford to look that far ahead. He has to know that the easy part is over, and that the hard part is going to begin in the fourth round. He hasn't dropped a set yet, but he'll be dropping sets and battling for his life in no time.

That's when the questions about Nadal will be answered. Through three matches, it's simply been too easy.