Another Aussie opponent, another straight-sets victory and another to come for Rafael Nadal, who booked his spot in the third round of Australian Open 2019 with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Matthew Ebden on Wednesday night.
The 2009 champion, who will face Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur in the third round, did not have it all his own way against Ebden, who brought up three break points midway through the opening set, only to rue a missed backhand volley with the court at his mercy on the third.
From there, however, the Spaniard stormed clear, breaking immediately and winning 15 of the next 19 games to seal victory in one hour, 56 minutes – another promising effort as he plays his way back to full fitness following ankle surgery in late 2018.
“Every day is a test, and especially when you are back after injuries,” said Nadal. “I think I played a solid match, I’m happy with the way my serve worked, and I think I did a few things very well – serve and first shot have been very, very positive, hitting a lot of winners with my forehand. And with my return, I think I’ve been improving during the match.”
Nadal’s 57th victory at Melbourne Park makes him the third-most successful player at the Australian Open since the dawn of the Open Era, surpassing Stefan Edberg and trailing only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He also extended his career record against Australian opposition to 25-7 at large, and 6-2 at Melbourne Park.
That’s not to say Ebden didn’t put up a fight. Any notions that Nadal would have things all his own way were dispelled midway through the opening set, when the Australian fashioned three break points at 3-3, two with smart forehand passes down the line that left the world No.2 for dead.
Nadal served his way out of trouble on the first two, but Ebden made him play the third, constructing the point brilliantly to surge forward only to bury the high volley into the tape.
Yet as so often happens when such a gilt-edged chance passes, the world No.48 was broken in the next game, and with that Nadal assumed control of the contest.
To that point Ebden had committed to playing up on the baseline and starving the Spaniard of time in a bid to keep him off balance. But with his defences breached, Nadal found him easy prey as he retreated just too deep to force the pace.
Twin breaks in both the second and third sets followed, the last sealed despite Ebden’s show-stopping efforts to lob the Spaniard with a tweener on break point as he slipped 5-2 down.
The Australian fended off one match point and even brought up a break point of his own, only for Nadal to bury an unplayable second serve. Two points later, the game was up – a clean win, as he outgunned Ebden with 33 winners to 23, and gave up only 15 unforced errors to his opponent’s 30.
With No.5 seed Kevin Anderson beaten earlier in the day by Frances Tiafoe, plus No.9 seed John Isner and last year’s semi-finalist Kyle Edmund losing in the first round, Nadal is now the only single-digit seed in his quarter of the draw – not that he is paying attention to results elsewhere, this year at least.
“I going to be very honest with you,” he said. "Normally I look all around the draw. In the situation that I am today, coming back from an injury, I am just going on every day.
“I even don't know that Edmund was on my part of the draw or not. I just know a little bit the beginning of the tournament. I have now a tough opponent like De Minaur – I think he’s already won seven matches in a row.
“Today has been a very important step forward for me. The way that I played was very positive, in my opinion. I am happy about the rest of things. The seeds are seeded because they played better the last 12 months – that doesn't mean they going to play better during these two weeks. When they lost, there is another player that is playing better, that's all.”
Over to you, Mr De Minaur.
“He’s almost Spanish too, so …!” Nadal said of the No.27 seed. “I’m joking. I just feel happy that the new generation is coming. It’s important for tennis to share these generations.
“He’s an amazing talent, and so young. It’s going to be a fantastic battle. I really believe he has a chance to have an amazing career – hopefully not in two nights, but I wish him the best for the rest of the year.”