Australian Open: Rafael Nadal brushes aside Gael Monfils in straight-sets

Monfils, with his flashy shots and crowd-pleasing style, has caused a degree of trouble for Nadal in the past but not this time.

Things may have been different had Monfils responded to a break of his serve in the first game by hitting straight back.

He had three chances but each time Nadal found the answer, and it was not until the fifth game that Monfils got on the board.

There were a smattering of stunning winners from the 27-year-old but far too many loose shots to put any pressure on his opponent.

Only concern

The only concern for Nadal came in the fourth game of the second set when he slightly rolled his ankle, but he did not require any treatment and a run of four straight games followed.

Monfils began to serve better in the third set and for the first time managed sustained pressure on the Nadal delivery, but every break point was met with rock solid play by the world number one.

And it was no surprise when Monfils blazed a forehand metres over the baseline to hand Nadal the break and a chance to serve for the match.

He took it with the minimum of fuss and goes forward to a fourth-round meeting with Japan's Kei Nishikori, who crushed American Donald Young 7-5 6-1 6-0.

"Gael is always a big test, he's a great player, but I think today I played my best match in the tournament so far, so very happy for that," Nadal said.