Rafael Nadal's next match: Opponent, venue, live streaming, TV channel and schedule | Australian Open 2023, Round 1

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will begin his 2023 Australian Open campaign against Jack Draper in the first round on Monday.

The former World No. 1 has been handed a challenging draw and with his rocky start to the new season, there's a strong possibility of an upset as well. But Nadal has been known to turn it up during the big moments, so despite his current form, he's a difficult beast to tame at the Majors.

Arch-rival Novak Djokovic is on the other side of the draw and the two won't meet before the final. But that's a long way off for now, so let's take a look at the details of the Spaniard's upcoming match:

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Where is Rafael Nadal playing?

The Spaniard is currently competing at the Australian Open, the season's first Grand Slam. He's gunning for his third title here following his triumphs in 2009 and 2022.

Since 2007, he has made it to the quarterfinals at the very least, except in 2013 when he didn't compete, and in 2016 when he lost in the first round. He's also a four-time runner-up Down Under, losing the 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019 finals.

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Who is Rafael Nadal playing against?

Jack Draper at the 2022 US Open.

The 36-year-old will kick off his title defense against Jack Draper. The Brit is currently into the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 and is set to surpass his career-high ranking of No. 40 with his latest run.

Draper is a promising young talent and has already notched up notable wins over players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime. He'll now be making his debut at the Australian Open. His best result at a Grand Slam so far has been a third-round appearance at the 2022 US Open.

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Rafael Nadal vs Jack Draper match schedule

Nadal is scheduled to play the third match of the day session at the Rod Laver Arena, with the match not starting before 2:30 pm local time.

Date: January 16, 2023 (Aus/UK/India), January 15, 2023 (US/Canada).

Match Timing: Not before 2:30 AEDT, 9 am IST, 3:30 am GMT and 10:30 pm ET.

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Rafael Nadal vs Jack Draper streaming details

Viewers from the following countries can watch the match live on these respective channels and sites:

ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3, & ESPN+ - USA

TSN & RDS - Canada.

Eurosport - United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Nine & Stan Sport - Australia.

beIN Sports - Middle East and North Africa.

SuperSport - Sub-Saharan Africa.

CCTV, iQIYI, GreatSports Media (Shanghai TV), Guangdong TV - China.

Eurosport - Europe.

WOWOW - Japan.

ESPN International - Latin and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Sony Six, Sony Ten & Sony Liv - India.

For more information regarding the broadcast of the 2023 Australian Open, click here.