Rafael Nadal in brutal form as he effortlessly blasts his way into Australian Open second round

ATP Tour
Rafael Nadal forehand at Australian Open

Rafael Nadal made short work of Hugo Dellien as he started his Australian Open campaign in typically dominant fashion.

Nadal was in total control from the very first minute as the Bolivian struggled to find anything in his arsenal capable of hurting the world number one.

He was in no mood for charity, though, and eased himself to a ruthless 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 win in Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal is chasing both a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title and a record-breaking second career slam in Australia, and couldn’t have really gotten off to a better start.

“It’s a positive start,” Nadal said. “What you want in the first round is to win, and straight sets is better.”

The top seed will play the winner of Argentine Federico Delbonis and Portuguese Joao Sousa in the second round, neither of whom have ever beaten him.

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Elsewhere, it was a solid session for the more fancied players, with Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, and Dominic Thiem all safely progressing into round two.

There were also impressive wins for Diego Schwartzman and Roberto Bautista Agut in a busy day session due to Monday’s rain.

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