The Australian Open Tennis has started with a bang in Melbourne with a whole host of shocks on the first day of the tournament.
There were no such issues for Rafa Nadal though as he came though his first round match in stunning circumstances on the Rod Laver Arena on Monday night local time. The legendary Spaniard brushed aside Victor Estrella Burgos in straight sets to move into the second round 6-1 6-1 6-1.
Sporting a retro sleeveless top, the crowd down under were treated to an exhibition of tennis from the 2009 Champion, and there no signs of the troublesome knee injury which caused a delay to the start of the season.
Nadal enjoyed a stunning 2017 with two Grand Slam victories, and the #1 seed looked right on top of his game as he played his first match of the year. Nadal was due to play in Brisbane prior to arriving in Melbourne but decided to come straight into the tournament without a match as he looked to get back to full fitness, and the evidence of today, it was the right decision.
His Dominican opponent gave his best to the delight of the crowd and managed to produce some brave back-to-the-wall tennis, but ultimately he was unable to make an impression in one of the biggest matches of his career.
Nadal was clearly delighted with his performance as he walked off court and the 14-time Grand Slam Champion will now play Mayer of Argentina in the 2nd round as he continues his quest for another Australian Open title.
Are we already on course for another Roger v Rafa Final?
It wasn't such a good day for the man Nadal beat in the US Open Final with Kevin Anderson going down in five sets to Kyle Edmund from Britain in the first big shock of the tournament in the men's half. Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios cruised through his first match, whilst Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov also progressed with relative ease.
