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Andy Murray has had the easiest of tournaments so far but knows his path gets so much tougher when he faces defending champion Rafael Nadal in the biggest match of the Australian Open so far.
Defending champion Nadal faces No.5 Murray on Tuesday in the dream quarter-final conjured up when the Scot dropped a place in the rankings two weeks ago to land in the tough quarter of the draw.
Tuesday’s match could be a turning point for both players. Nadal can reinvigorate his tennis after a disappointing eight months and Murray can take a huge step toward winning a breakthrough grand slam.
The Scot has breezed through to the last eight with four straight set wins, while Nadal has dropped just two sets along the way against better credentialled opponents than Murray.
But Murray knows he will need to lift above the level which has swept him past qualifier Kevin Anderson, Frenchmen March Gicquel and Florent Serra and American John Isner.
“Yeah, I’m playing well. No question about that. I just need to play like I have been, and maybe a bit more if I want to win the tournament,” he said.
“I’m happy to have won the matches comfortably. I know the match against Rafa is going to be difficult, but I think I can win.”
Nadal has had a difficult, injury-hit eight months and is one loss away from being stripped bare.
At the end of January last year, Nadal owned the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles and was ranked No.1.
The Spaniard now only has the Australian Open and Murray can complete a miserable 12 months for the world No.2 and wrench that one away from him as well.
With knee and stomach injuries restricting him, Nadal has not won a tournament since May and has lost 10 of his last 11 matches against top 10 players.
But Murray refuses to concede Nadal is vulnerable, especially as he has won seven of their last nine matches.
“If he is physically fit, which he seems to be, it’s going to be an incredibly tough match. I’m not going to say that he is looking vulnerable,” Murray said.
Nadal acknowledges the quarter final could turn his fortunes around.
“This match can change a lot (of) the situation for me,” he said.
“You have some ups and downs in your career. And probably the last eight months or six months, I had more problem than usual with my knees, later with the abdominal.
“I think I am okay. And I have to play better next match if I really want to have chances to win. Andy is one of the more difficult players to play against. I have to play my best tennis.
“The big difference between him and me is that he serves better than I do, but when I’m able to play with rhythm and intensity I can overcome him.”
Factbox and head-to-head record ahead of the Australian Open quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray at Melbourne Park on Tuesday (prefix denotes seeding):
2-RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) leads 5-ANDY MURRAY (SCO) 7-2
2009 Monte Carlo Masters, clay, S, Nadal 6-2 7-6 (7-4)
2009 Indian Wells, hard, F, Nadal 6-1 6-2
2009 Rotterdam, hard, F, Murray 6-3 4-6 6-0
2008 US Open, hard, S, Murray 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4
2008 Toronto Masters, hard, S, Nadal 7-6 (7-2) 6-3
2008 Wimbledon, grass, Q, Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-4
2008 Hamburg Masters, clay, R16, Nadal 6-3 6-2
2007 Madrid Masters, hard, R16, Nadal 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
2007 Australian Open, hard, R16, Nadal 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-1
2-RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)
Age: 23
Ranking: 2
Plays: left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US27,324,203 ($A30.27 million)
Career titles: 36
Career win-loss record: 409-92
Grand slam titles: 6 (Australian Open 2009; French Open 2005-08; Wimbledon 2008)
Australian Open win-loss record: 25-4
Best Australian Open performance: champion 2009
ANDY MURRAY (SCO)
Age: 22
Ranking: 5
Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US9,920,493 ($A10.99 million)
Career titles: 14
Grand slam titles: 0
Australian Open win-loss record: 6-4
Career win-loss record: 409-92
Best Australian Open performances: quarter-finalist 2010
SportsAlive: Murray $1.75, Nadal $2.05
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