Australian Open 2022: Rafael Nadal vs Adrian Mannarino preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (6) Rafael Nadal vs Adrian Mannarino

Date: 23 January 2022

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)

Venue: Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $75,000,000

Match timing: Not before 2 pm local time, 3 am GMT, 8.30 am IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv

Rafael Nadal vs Adrian Mannarino preview

Sixth seed Rafael Nadal will continue his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title when he takes on Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open on Sunday.

Nadal moved one step closer to a second Australian Open crown with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over 28th seed Karen Khachanov in the third round.

The Spaniard played well in the first two sets, with his signature forehand firing on all cylinders. His intensity dropped a little in the third set and Khachanov capitalized. However, Nadal bounced back strongly in the fourth to win the match.

Adrian Mannarino at the 2022 Australian Open.

Adrian Mannarino, meanwhile, defeated last year's semifinalist Aslan Karatsev 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted more than four hours. The Russian had already spent more than seven hours on court this week, so it was not a big surprise that he ran out of gas against Mannarino, although he did keep fighting till the end.

The Frenchman, who upset 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, will be competing in the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career.

Mannarino entered the tournament on the back of two consecutive first-round losses and has done brilliantly to turn his season around.

Rafael Nadal vs Adrian Mannarino head-to-head

The two have faced off twice before, with Nadal leading 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter 7-5, 6-4 at the 2019 Paris Masters.

Rafael Nadal vs Adrian Mannarino prediction

Nadal will enter this contest as the firm favorite, especially considering the fact that Mannarino might be a little fatigued following his exploits against Karatsev.

Mannarino went 5/24 on break points in his third-round match. He is unlikely to create that many opportunities against Nadal and will thus need to be extremely efficient.

Nadal, on his part, will look to continue playing the way he has so far. His heavy top-spin forehand has tormented his opponents at Melbourne Park this week, and he is likely to target Mannarino's forehand, which is not the greatest of shots.

The Spaniard should be able to come through without breaking a sweat.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in straight sets.

Also check out: Australian Open 2022 Schedule of Play

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram