Nadal Blasts Past Mayer In Melbourne

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.

Nadal fell to countryman Fernando Verdasco a year ago, the victim of an all-out attack from Verdasco, 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.