Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic through at Australian Open 2017

World number nine Rafael Nadal produced a commanding display to reach the second round of the Australian Open.

The injury-hit Spaniard, who last won a Grand Slam in 2014 and lost in the first round last year, beat Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-3 6-4 6-4 in Melbourne.

Nadal, seeking to win a 15th Grand Slam title, dominated from the start and will now play Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

“Today was a good first round for me,” said Nadal, 30. “Florian is a tough first player to play against.”

Nadal is attempting to win his second Australian Open after beating Roger Federer in the 2009 final.

A wrist injury plagued the Spanish left-hander after the French Open last year, and he missed Wimbledon, but he has a new coach in Carlos Moya and says he is fit and healthy.

“I was healthy enough to practise the way I wanted to practise, so that’s important for me,” Nadal added.

“I’ve had a longer period of time here in Australia, it was great experience and I was able to play in Brisbane.”

Third seed Milos Raonic went through with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Germany’s Dustin Brown.

The 26-year-old Canadian, a semi-finalist last year, hit 18 aces and 46 winners, and will next face either Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller or American Taylor Fritz.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, the second seed, started his campaign against Fernando Verdasco of Spain at 08:00 GMT.

You can follow the match live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website.

• Live scores, results and order of play

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