24 January,2017 08:28 AM IST | | PA Sport
Rafael Nadal joked about giving his girlfriend a wild card to attend the Australian Open but the Spaniard played like a champion as he cruised past Gael Monfils
Melbourne: Rafael Nadal joked about giving his girlfriend a wild card to attend the Australian Open but the Spaniard played like a champion as he cruised past Gael Monfils.
Nadal continued his resurgence on Rod Laver Arena by beating Frenchman Monfils 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Watching on in Nadal's box was his girlfriend Xisca Perello, who has never before joined him for his Australian Open campaign. The couple visited Sydney this month after he lost in the quarter-finals in Brisbane.
"The negative thing is I lost in the quarter-final in Brisbane but the good thing is I had chance to visit Sydney. I hadn't been there before and we enjoyed it. So after 10 years finally my girlfriend gets a wild card to come here," Nadal said in his on-court interview with two-time former Melbourne champion Jim Courier.
