Rafael Nadal did his best to erase the memory of his 2016 first-round loss in Melbourne on Tuesday, dominating Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours in Rod Laver Arena. The Spaniard landed 70 per cent of his first serves and ripped 39 winners against the 33-year-old Mayer, who was playing at Melbourne Park for the first time in three years.
“I think I played solid match,” said Nadal. “It was great to be back on the big stadium. I feel the support of the people, love of the people. That is something that is very special for me. I am happy the way I am playing. I had [some] good weeks of practise… I always expect difficult matches. Today was not an easy match.”
Nadal fell to countryman Fernando Verdasco a year ago, the victim of an all-out attack from his opponent, who hit 90 winners in the win. But Tuesday's match was never in question for the 30-year-old Mallorca native. Nadal earned a break in each set, including at 4-4 in the third set, and converted his first match point with a forehand winner.
Nadal will next face Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who advanced to the second round when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired down 6-3, 3-0. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-1.
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Roberto Bautista Agut, the No. 13 seed and the winner of the Aircel Chennai Open, cruised past Guido Pella 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in 83 minutes for a second-round clash against Yoshihito Nishioka.