Rafael Nadal: Rafa Will Cruise to Quarterfinals with Fourth Round Win over Lopez

In a men's draw that has Novak Djokovic written all over it, the 2012 Australian Open field must equally fear No. 2-seed Rafael Nadal.

Nadal is hands down the strongest talent in the game outside of Novak Djokovic, as he has put together several convincing performances to begin the Grand Slam at Melbourne.

After three straight-set victories in the first three rounds of play, Nadal is set to take on Spanish sensation and No. 18-seed Feliciano Lopez in what most would consider a match set to go to four or five sets.

Yet regardless of how well Lopez has performed as of late, it will be Nadal running away with this match in a hurry. To put it lightly, Lopez will be lucky to get away with one set in this one.

Nadal is 9-2 all time against Lopez, with all nine victories coming in straight sets. Lopez has been able to beat Nadal just once since 2003 as the history between these two gives people every reason to believe Nadal has what it takes to take care of this matchup.

The other convincing factor in this one is just how efficient Nadal has been throughout the course of this tournament. Nadal has looked as solid as he had before boasting his fair share of struggles against Djokovic and other top-notch talents last season.

Granted it is understood that Nadal has yet to face a highly ranked such as Feliciano Lopez in this tournament, it is still clear that Nadal has made significant strides since last season.

Nadal's health has yet to be an issue in this tournament, which has shown in the way he has dominated his first three matches. His movement is good and his service games have been something to watch throughout tournament play.

There is a chance his luck will run out upon facing steeper competition like a Novak Djokovic later in the tournament, yet there is no doubt Nadal will roll over Lopez in what should be a match that goes no longer than four sets.

Nadal has been winning games with an incredibly efficient serve, winning nearly 82 percent of his points on his first serve. That type of dominance will bode well against the tournament's best players and will dismantle a player like Lopez over three to four sets of play.

If one thing is for certain, in spite of the doubt that looms over Nadal is this tourney due to falling to No. 2 in the world, that won the French Open and was a finalist in two Grand Slams last season.

Despite falling to Djokovic in both finals in 2011, there is no question that Nadal has what it takes to make a deep, promising run at tennis' top talent in 2012.