Nadal eases into third round in Melbourne

Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates winning the match against Argentina's Federico Delbonis. [Courtesy]

Rafael Nadal passed up a good few chances for an earlier finish to his night before muscling his way into the third round of the Australian Open with a commanding 6-3 7-6(4) 6-1 victory over Argentine Federico Delbonis on Thursday. The match lacked nothing in quality power tennis but was almost entirely devoid of drama and the most notable incident came late in the third set when the ball flew off top seed Nadal’s racket and hit a ballgirl on the head.

The 19-times Grand Slam champion raced over to check she was alright and then planted a kiss on her cheek, drawing a huge cheer from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.