Nadal Cruises Into Australia Open Round Two
BRISBANE (Dispatches) - World number one Rafael Nadal cruised into the Australian Open second round with a straightforward victory over Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien.
Nadal, champion in Melbourne in 2009, dropped just five games in a 6-2 6-3 6-0 win over his 72nd-ranked opponent.
The Spaniard, runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year, is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles.
"For me personally, it has been a very positive start,” the 33-year-old said.
"What you want is to win in the first round and, if you can do it in straight sets, even better.”
Nadal, who will play Federico Delbonis of Argentina next, has reached the Australian Open final five times but won it only once, beating Federer in a five-set epic 11 years ago.
He dropped serve twice against Dellien but barely looked troubled, hitting 38 winners to his opponent’s 15.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev came through a testing first-round match against American Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 36 minutes.
Russian Medvedev, beaten in five sets by Nadal in last year’s US Open final, plays Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez in the second round.
He said: "Many moments in the match, I felt like I had got the momentum and straight away he was coming back. For the first round, it’s a big win and I’m really happy.”
Nadal, champion in Melbourne in 2009, dropped just five games in a 6-2 6-3 6-0 win over his 72nd-ranked opponent.
The Spaniard, runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year, is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles.
"For me personally, it has been a very positive start,” the 33-year-old said.
"What you want is to win in the first round and, if you can do it in straight sets, even better.”
Nadal, who will play Federico Delbonis of Argentina next, has reached the Australian Open final five times but won it only once, beating Federer in a five-set epic 11 years ago.
He dropped serve twice against Dellien but barely looked troubled, hitting 38 winners to his opponent’s 15.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev came through a testing first-round match against American Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 36 minutes.
Russian Medvedev, beaten in five sets by Nadal in last year’s US Open final, plays Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez in the second round.
He said: "Many moments in the match, I felt like I had got the momentum and straight away he was coming back. For the first round, it’s a big win and I’m really happy.”