WheN Rafael Nadal arrived in Melbourne, now 30 and with 14 Grand Slam titles under his belt despite a host of injuries that have hampered his career, there were plenty who dismissed his chances of doing anything of note at the Australian Open.

But as the Spaniard prepares for a fourth-round match against sixth seed Gael Monfils, they have all gone a bit quiet now.

Not only is Nadal in the last 16, he’s looking like a potential threat to the likes of Andy Murray – who was due to play Mischa Zverev in round four last night – for the title, something that did not seem too likely even a week ago.

In the space of a week, Nadal, seeded ninth this year, impressed in his first two matches and then hit a high as he fended off a serious challenge from 19-year-old German Sascha Zverev.

It took him a lot of effort before he was able to clinch his 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory, but the manner in which he came from two sets to one down, stamping his physical prowess on the match, will have boosted his confidence.

“For the confidence, for a lot of things, it is very important to win these kind of matches,” Nadal said. “I worked a lot during December to have the chance to compete well in these kind of moments. Even if I started the match with some nerves, I think I was able to come back well.

“It is true that I lost the third set in the tie-break but in my opinion, I was playing better than him in the third. His serve was huge in the third set. A lot of big percentage, a lot of good serves.

“It was a tough set for me but mentally I was very positive during the whole match. In terms of physical performance, I felt great, ready for run for every ball, and I think I finished the match playing much better than how I started it, no? That’s a very important thing.”

It was his match against Zverev in Indian Wells in March last year – when he came from 5-2 down in the third set and saved match point – that proved to be the spur for Nadal to regain something close to his best form during the clay-court season, before a wrist injury stopped him at the French Open.

The way he stepped up a level in the last two sets yesterday bodes well for his clash with Monfils, someone he’s beaten in 12 of their 14 contests.

“He’s No 6 in the world and he’s playing great,” Nadal said of the Frenchman. “He had an amazing year last year. He has started the season playing very well again. It’s going to be a big, big match, a very tough one. I need to play my best.”

Third seed Milos Raonic, who pushed Murray so close in the semi-finals last year, will dose up on flu medication again before playing his fourth-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. Wimbledon 2016 runner-up Raonic has been under the weather since his second-round match but managed himself well enough to beat Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. The Canadian said he expects something similar in his match with Bautista Agut.

“Obviously they both hit pretty flat,” he said. “Roberto tries to take over a little bit more with the forehand. Also, he doesn’t suck you into his game as much.

“I’ve been able to find the sol-utions against him a few times in the past. It’s going to be a match that I’m going to have to step up and dictate and take it on my terms. That’s going to be the most important thing.”

Denis Istomin, having avoided the usual let-down following his shock win over six-time champion Novak Djokovic by seeing off Pablo Carrena Busta of Spain in five sets, plays Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the quarter-finals.

Dominic Thiem of Austria will face Belgium’s David Goffin, the latter having dismantled the big serving of Ivo Karlovic with a straight-sets win to put himself in the last 16.