Melbourne, Jan 21: Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal survived a marathon third-round battle against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open tennis tournament, prevailing with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 win here on Saturday.
"It's obviously an important result for me," Nadal was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com after his win in Rod Laver Arena.
"He's already one of the best players in the world. He can be even better. He can be fighting for the most important things. So I think he will do it.
"For the confidence, for lot of things, it is very important to win these kind of matches. I worked a lot during all of December to have the chances to compete well in these kind of moments. Even if I started the match with some nerves, I think I was able to came back well."
Nadal will next face sixth seed Gael Monfils, who recorded a 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber in just under two hours.
"Mentally I have been very positive during the whole match. In terms of physical performance, I felt great, ready for every ball.
"In terms of level of tennis, I think I finished the match playing much better than how I started the match. That's a very important thing," Nadal concluded.
IANS
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