Rejuvenated Rafa finds AO opener answers

Fourteen-time major champion Rafael Nadal has handed German journeyman Florian Mayer a straight-sets defeat in the opening round of the Australian Open.

The ninth-seeded Spaniard won 6-3 6-4 6-4 in a match lasting just over two hours.

Nadal ended his 2016 campaign in mid-October due to a painful left wrist injury.

Now fully recovered, he returned to action at the Brisbane International earlier this month where he bowed out in the quarter-finals to world No.3 Milos Raonic.

This was the seventh straight time that the 33-year-old Mayer had been beaten in the opening round of a grand slam event.

Nadal lost at the same stage at Melbourne Park last year to countryman Fernando Verdasco, but he was never seriously troubled on Tuesday.

“Today was a good first round for me,” said the 30-year-old Nadal.

“Florian is not the typical player to play.

“For me it is a great victory and to now have the chance to win more matches in Melbourne.”