Nadal storms into second round of Australian Open

Melbourne, Feb 9 (IANS) Rafael Nadal on Tuesday started off his chase for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam in an emphatic manner, registering a straight-sets win against Serbia's Laslo Djere in the opening round contest of the men's singles event of the Australian Open.The World No. 2 defeated Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 51 minutes to reach the second round where he will play one of two qualifiers -- Michael Mmoh or Viktor Troicki."I'm happy to be through to the second round. I think I did a good job today," Nadal said after the match as per the ATP Tour website. "Straight sets, that's what I needed."Nadal did not compete in the ATP Cup due to injury."It's been a tough 15 days for me, because I had some issues with the back. I needed to survive today, and that's what I did," the Spaniard said. "I just tried to be focussed all the time, tried to get through."Earlier in the day, Daniel Medvedev also advanced to the second round, beating Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. However, there was disappointment for India's Sumit Nagal who faced a crushing 2-6, 5-7, 3-6 defeat to Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis to bow out of the competition.On Monday, Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic had registered comprehensive victories in their respective first-round clashes.
--IANS aak/