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The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal made a winning Australian Open start, beating Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in his 80th match in Melbourne. The Spaniard needed an hour and 52 minutes to bring the victory home, struggling with a back injury for the last two weeks and feeling revealed about finishing the job in under two hours and in straight sets today.
Rafa lost serve once and grabbed six breaks from 11 chances, controlling the scoreboard and delivering aggressive tennis to overpower the Serb. Nadal seized an early break in game two and held at 15 to cement the advantage.
Rafael Nadal is through to the Australian Open second round.
The Spaniard placed a return winner for another break in game six and served for the set in the next game, only to suffer that only break. Trailing 30-0 in game nine, Rafa won four straight points to win the set 6-3 and gather momentum ahead of set number two.
Delivering one good serve after another, Nadal broke in the third game and served for it at 5-4, fending off a break chance and firing a service winner for two sets to love advantage. Laslo hit a double fault in the third set's first game to suffer a break.
The Spaniard produced another comfortable hold in game four with an unreturned serve and forced Djere's error to score another break and move 4-1 ahead. Rafa erased a break point in the sixth game with a brilliant forehand down the line winner and marched into the second round with another break at 5-1.
"I had tough 15 days due to those back issues, and I needed to survive today. I tried to play my best tennis and stay focused, which I did. I think I played a good match today; I had to win in straight sets, and I achieved that.
I'm here to give my best, as always, I can't say much more, as I have to go day by day. With this victory, I have a couple of more days to recover and get out of this not ideal situation. I'm happy to be here and compete in beautiful Australia one more time; I want to stay as long as possible.
We are facing challenging times globally; every player needs the crowd and the fantastic atmosphere it produces. At the same time, we have to be responsible and take care of each other. Tennis is an essential thing in our lives, but we are all facing much more important things at the moment," Rafael Nadal said.