Wednesday 4 January 2017 11:05, UK
Rafael Nadal enjoyed an ideal start to his first Brisbane International after storming into the second round with a straight sets win over Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Nadal took only 74 minutes to see off Dolgopolov 6-3 6-3 booking a second round clash with Germany's Mischa Zverev in the process, who earlier outclassed 17-year-old Australian qualifier Alex de Minaur by the same scoreline.
Dolgopolov had beaten Nadal in their previous two encounters and he started well, breaking the Spaniard's second service game.
But Nadal broke straight back then broke again to take the first set in 39 minutes.
The 30-year-old world No 9, without a major prize since he won the French Open in 2014, needed only an hour and 16 minutes to win his first match of the year.
Nadal, who played the last match of the day and finished just before midnight, only arrived in Brisbane from Abu Dhabi on Monday and said he was struggling to adapt to the time difference.
"Today, at two in the afternoon I was on the bed," he said.
"I was destroyed. I'm not sure if it's better to play earlier or not. I think for the moment, I think it's better for me to play later.
"I played great in Abu Dhabi (where he won an exhibition tournament)," he added.
"I like the conditions there, and a lot of years I played well there. That's always important for me.
"And here is an important event for me, because it's the second event of the year and the first ATP event. It's great to start the new year with a victory in the ATP Tour."
Standing in the way of British hopeful Kyle Edmund is Lucas Pouille, through to the second round following his 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) victory over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon.
There were also wins for Sam Groth, Jared Donaldson, Viktor Troicki and Diego Schwartzman, who beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Gilles Muller, Yoshihito Nishioka and Sam Querrey respectively.
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