World No 1 Rafael Nadal has continued his ominous start to the Australian Open, powering through to the round of 32 with a straight-sets win over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer.
The 2009 champion again looked untroubled on Wednesday by his recent knee issues, claiming a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory in two hours and 38 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal will face Bosnian No 28 seed Damir Dzumhur – who earlier had edged out local favourite John Millman – in Friday’s third round.
After dropping just three games in his first-round defeat of Dominican Estrella Burgos, Nadal was forced to dig deeper in his fifth career meeting with the 30-year-old Mayer.
The 16-time grand-slam winner had his serve broken at 5-4 and was forced to a tiebreaker in a third set which lasted 69 minutes.
An animated Nadal leapt into the air and pumped his fist with delight after sending a searing forehand winner down the line to go up 4-2 before serving out the match.
“Serving for the match or serving for the set, there is always some breaks,” Nadal said.