NADAL OPENS STRONGLY; TOMIC BEATS VERDASCO IN FIVE SETS

World No. 2 and 2009 Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal opened his campaign to recapture the trophy with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory over American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov on Monday in Melbourne.

The Spaniard compiled strong statistics in his opener, hitting 42 winners to just 14 unforced errors, and broke the No. 167-ranked Kuznetsov’s serve six times from 10 opportunities as he claimed victory in one hour and 46 minutes.

The 25-year-old Nadal, who defeated Roger Federer in the 2009 Australian Open final, improved to a 30-6 event record. After winning a record-equalling sixth Roland Garros trophy last season (d. Federer), the Mallorcan is bidding to clinch his 11th Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

In the second round Nadal will face former World No. 2 and three-time Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Haas, who fired 20 aces as he advanced with a 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 win over American Denis Kudla. The German started the 2012 ATP World Tour season ranked outside the Top 200 South African Airways ATP Rankings after playing a limited schedule in 2011 following recovery from hip surgery.

Australian teenager Bernard Tomic delighted the Rod Laver Arena as he came back from two sets down for the second time in his career to defeat Spanish No. 22 seed Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

"It was probably one of the best matches for me that I played," said Tomic, who made his major breakthrough by reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals as a qualifier last year (l. to Djokovic). "I haven't played a lot of these five setters. So being not that fit, it's tough to put your mind to come through that, and I don't know how I did it today. One of those days. I'm so happy with myself."

World No. 38 Tomic is contesting the Australian Open main draw for the fourth time and maintained his perfect first-round record. He began the season by reaching his first ATP World Tour semi-final at the Brisbane International (l. to Murray).

Tomic goes onto face American Sam Querrey, who claimed his first tour-level win of the year by breaking serve five times to defeat France’s Kenny De Schepper 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 86 minutes.

Querrey was joined in the second round by eighth-seeded countryman Mardy Fish, who dismissed Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. The 30-year-old Fish, who qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in a career-best season last year, was a quarter-finalist in Melbourne in 2007 (l. to Roddick).

"Just tasting that, being able to be a part of that (the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals) with those guys last year, that's what will drive me now," said Fish, who has never been past the last eight in a major tournament. "Obviously I want to go further in a slam than the quarter-finals and put myself in that position to see what that feels like, see what that is like."