Without the spectacle of the first match against Belgium's Christophe Rochus, but calmly, Spanish Rafael Nadal, the world number one, overtook the Croatian Roko Karanusic, 92, by 6-2, 6-3 and 6-2, and was placed in the third round of the Australia Open.
Nadal still does not suffer in the opening stages of the first Grand Slam of the season. It seems as if his name scare rivals to come out and they claudicaran to step from the start. Rochus he endured 77 minutes, and the talented and unpredictable Karanusic twenty minutes more today. Two tests have not yet served to check the current state of form Nadal.
Karanusic went to the track as if the match today was a holiday. Without tension, playing with pace, sleeping the ball more often, and other authentic sending missiles baffled Nadal.
His style of play, as unusual as himself, can give results in other instances, as' challengers' in Belgrade and Kolding (Denmark), which won last year, but not in a Grand Slam before and less regularly as a player led him to the top.
Without ever having won either a player among the top ten in the world, nor a left-handed, it was difficult Croatian. Although he had said it was felt better physically and mentally than Nadal, who only gave to the technique. If it adds that this was his first confrontation against the world number one, complications multiply.
Nevertheless, no Nadal gets lost. Was not as successful with the service as before Rochus, but the level is light years away from his rival, not given the pace that you may need in the next instance.
In the third round, Nadal will be measured with the German Tommy Haas, who beat Italian Flavio Cipolla, by 6-1, 6-2 and 6-1.