Rafael Nadal: Breaking Down Rafa's Potential Remaining Matches

If Rafael Nadal wants to win his second Australian Open, he has a lot of work to do. Here's a quick look at his three (probable) remaining opponents.

Preview: It isn't going to be easy.

Quarterfinals: Tomas Berdych (No. 7)

Berdych may be No. 7 in the world, but Rafa has had his number as of late. In 14 career matches between the two, Berdych has won just three, but those all came in 2006 or earlier.

Rafa has won their last 10 meetings, and five of those have come on hard surface. During those five, Nadal has only lost one set. 

Berdych will be looking to improve his quarterfinal finish from last year in Australia, but the odds are very much against him.

Semifinals: Roger Federer (No. 3)

Hey, usually we have to wait until the finals to see this epic matchup, but Novak Djokovic has done us a favor and taken over the No. 1 seed.

Breaking down the head-to-head stats is almost pointless, because when these two go at you can pretty much throw everything out of the window. The talent is essentially equal, and it's going to come down to who wants it more.

Nonetheless, it's worth nothing that Nadal has faired well against Federer recently. In the last 10 matches between the two, Nadal has won seven, and that includes a win at the 2009 Australian Open.

However, Federer did just beat Nadal recently in London. But, of course, stats are meaningless when these two face each other.

This is going to be a classic, as always.

Finals: Novak Djokovic (No. 1)

This is where things get a little tough (as if they didn't already) for Rafael Nadal.

The Djoker had an absolutely amazing 2011, evidenced by his 6-0 record against Nadal over the course of the year. He capped it off with victories over Rafa at Wimbledon and at the US Open.

Still, Nadal hasn't won 10 Grand Slams for nothing. If these two end up in the finals together, I wouldn't be surprised to see them go five sets for the first time against each other.