Rafael Nadal returned to the ATP World Tour for the first time in two-and-a-half months to beat 2012 finalist Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday night at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. The Spanish superstar, who is making his debut at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament, will next face Mischa Zverev in the second round.

It was a battle between one of the ATP World Tour’s heaviest top-spinners, Nadal, versus one of flattest hitters, Dolgopolov, who gained the first break in the third game. Nadal responded by winning four straight games to wrap up the 36-minute opener and broke Dolgopolov in the fifth and ninth games of the second set. Dolgopolov had won the pair’s previous two meetings at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and at the 2015 Aegon Championships in London.

Zverev, who rose 121 spots to a 2016 year-end No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, overcame qualifier Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in 68 minutes during the evening session.

Milos Raonic has arrived at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and is ready to make a statement in his first tournament of 2017.

But before he takes the court for his match of the season, the top seed and defending champion made time to take in the sights of this world-class city. Raonic boarded a CityCat cruise around the Brisbane River on Tuesday and met Adrian Schrinner, the city’s Deputy Mayor.

“It’s great to be back here. This is the most ideal way for us, as tennis players, to start off an Australian summer,” said Raonic. “Having five of the Top 10 players here is of great significance. It’s obviously a great show not only of the kind of support that we have here in Brisbane, but also the quality of the tournament and the fact that players believe this is the most ideal way to start. They feel the comfort of being here many years over and over again.”

Having received a first-round bye, the World No. 3 will play the winner between Sam Querrey and Diego Schwartzman. Raonic is even with Querrey in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry at 2-2, but has won their past two matches.

The Canadian has thrived in Brisbane throughout his career, posting a 7-2 career record in his three appearances. He also finished runner-up at this event in 2015 (l. Federer).

This will be Raonic’s first match with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek as part of his coaching team. The Dutchman will also work alongside Riccardo Piatti, who has been with the Canadian since 2014. 

Qualifier Hyeon Chung began his 2017 ATP World Tour season with an upset over sixth seed and fellow NextGen star Borna Coric at the Aircel Chennai Open on Monday. The 20-year-old Korean topped the Croat 6-3, 7-5 in just over two hours. In the second round, Chung will face Dudi Sela, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Damir Dzumhur.

Top seed Marin Cilic will begin his season against Jozef Kovalik after the 24-year-old Slovakian defeated Gastao Elias 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2. Steve Darcis beat Nikola Mektic 6-2, 6-3 to set a second-round clash with third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Elsewhere, Moscow native Daniil Medvedev beat Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-3. The NextGen player awaits the winner of eighth seed Yen-Hsun Lu and Radu Albot.

In doubles, second seeds Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni defeated Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(4), 6-4 to set a quarter-final meeting with Johan Brunstrom and Andreas Siljestrom, 6-2, 6-4 winners over Indian wild cards N.Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan.

Novak Djokovic lost the first four games and recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the first set on Monday in his 2017 ATP World Tour season opener at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The World No. 2 and defending champion regained his poise to record a 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff in one hour and 27 minutes, marking his 14th straight victory against a German opponent.

“It’s first match of the year. You never know how you’re going to start,” said Djokovic. “As well as you have trained in the preparation period and the days prior to the tournament, [it] really is different when it’s competitive play, when you start the official match and the crowd is there.”

“It changes things mentally. I was a bit flat on my feet… But I stayed composed because I knew, I believed that I could find the rhythm, start reading his serve better, and that’s what happened,” added Djokovic. “Certainly I can play better, but it’s first match of the year. I know that I can’t be at my top the very first match, but I believe that the process is right.”

Djokovic, who has an 8-1 record at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, lost just six of his first service points. Last year, the Serbian became the sixth player who has ranked No. 1 in his career to win the Doha title, joining former coach Boris Becker – who won the inaugural title in 1993. Other No. 1s to lift the trophy have been Stefan Edberg (1994-95), Jim Courier (1997), Marcelo Rios (2001), Roger Federer (2005-06, ’11).

Djokovic will next face Horacio Zeballos, who saved two match points to beat Florian Mayer 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(9).

Fourth seed David Goffin saved 10 of the 12 break points faced to defeat Robin Haase 7-6(4), 6-2. The Belgian awaits the winner of Fernando Verdasco and Vasek Pospisil in the second round.

“It’s never easy when you start the first tournament of the season,” said Goffin. “You can feel the stress a little bit before the match… I’m feeling good mentally, because for me, it’s always been the key to stay fresh mentally. Physically, I know I can play week after week.”

Elsewhere, Dustin Brown knocked out Facundo Bagnis 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-4, Jiri Vesely hit 13 aces to overcome wild card Anil Yuksel 6-2, 6-3 and qualifier Radek Stepanek advanced when his opponent, eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis, retired due to a right ankle injury.

World No. 1 Andy Murray, who is also competing at the 25th edition of the tournament, opened his season with Mariusz Fyrstenberg. But David Marrero and Nenad Zimonjic got the better of the pair 6-2, 6-4 in 59 minutes. Murray will play his first singles match of 2017 against Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday.

Also in doubles, Fourth seeds Dominic Inglot and Florin Mergea advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Karen Khachanov and Andrey Kuznetsov. They next face Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin, who beat Malek Jaziri and Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-2, 6-3 in 47 minutes.