(AP) – Top-seeded Rafael Nadal didn’t show any side effects from a right knee injury that sidelined him at the end of last season, beating Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in a first-round match.
Our champ has only lost in the first round at two Grand Slam singles tournaments — to Steve Darcis at Wimbledon in 2013, and to Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne in 2016.
After the match, Rafa said:
I was disappointed I couldn’t make it in Brisbane but I’m very happy to be here again.
I took a little time off and straight after London I had to stop for a while and then started working step by step. That’s why I didn’t make Brisbane because I wanted to be ready for this.
This year I am here. I know one day that I won’t have the chance to play on this court so I want to enjoy every moment when I have the chance.
Rafa will play Leonardo Mayer in the second round on Wednesday. Mayer beat Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 7-6 (1), 6-3 earlier Monday.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Nadal [1] bt Estrella Burgos 6-1 6-1 6-1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 28/17
Estrella Burgos – 10/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 2/1
Estrella Burgos – 1/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 8/12
Estrella Burgos – 1/6
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Nadal – 73
Estrella Burgos – 66
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Nadal – 77/67
Estrella Burgos – 48/24
TOTAL POINTS
Nadal – 86
Estrella Burgos – 41
Rafa it was a great game to watch you coming back from having a break,
and this was really the first competitive game.
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 : ) Beautiful victory !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) ; ) : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) We cheered out loud at 3 am…… enjoying your court magic LIVE !!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) …… We watched it LIVE on ESPN and enjoyed the great commentary coverage by the two gentleman…Mark and the other…. they were lovely to listen to, and we appreciated their kind words to both players throughout the match!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) ; ) The umpire lady was awesome as well!!!!!! : ) It made it all very pleasant and fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Very happy for you sweetheart and very happy for the crowd as well……… We just watched the highlights and loved it all over again!!!! : ) Enjoy everything dear Rafa & have a fun day!!!!! : ) Lots of love and happiness & VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) KEEP SMILING SWEETHEART !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) XOXOXOXOXO
Bravo-great start💪Always respectful of opponents-both players seemed to enjoy themselves, even the loser! Pink must be the colour this year down under-Rafael
can wear any bright shade. The rest of the players in a black diagonal black must be boiling hot!😎
Great idea! Let’s have Roger wear all black: long sleeves and long pants. 😂😹 [je fait de blague].
RAFA ROCKS AUSTRALIA
Rafa, congratulations…
Félicitations…
Tillykke
Enhorabuena
Complimenti
Mabruk
RAFA ROCKS HIS FIRST MATCH
felicidades mi campeon VAMOS RAFA
Congratulations Rafa, well done my boy. I pray you keep fit to continue enjoying playing. Vamos Rafa. God bless you. Your Aussie Abuela Nan Shirley. 🐂🏆👑⛵️😀🎉🎉
Well done, what a lovely match between two happy players 🤗🎾💪🏼😃
Good luck at your next match Rafa 😘🍀
VAMOOS CHAMP! ❤️
Mabrooooooook
Cogratiolations
Enhorabuena!!! Buen comienzo…pero no sabia cuando jugabas…a vee si lo repiten y t verè pero no m habeis mandado ningun corre electronico eso si k es raro nunca habeis fallado…pero m alegro d tu buen comienzo…t siguo Rafa…
good start well done rafa,like forward to your next match vamos rafa.
A great start of the tournament/season for Rafa! Movement, forehand/backhand, serve/return, all looked good! No matter whom his opponent is, Rafa always plays with passion and respect (one of the many seasons why I love him)! The hug and smile at the end of the match was heartwarming. Best of luck on the next round. One match a time!
RafaelNadalFans, thank you for posting the match stats! The AO app is simply unusable!
Good Rafa I wach the Mach .you play very good.is going to be this year a great for you..vamosssssssssssssssssssssssssss champ.love your FANS.🎾🎾🎾👍👍👍❤️🇺🇸🏆
Rafa was happy to win and Burgos looked happy to have had the opportunity to play Rafa. A win win first round.
RAFA ROCKS
Perfect start for Rafa! He is always nervous during his first match. I love it when Rafa breaks from the start since that calms him down. Credit to Victor to keep trying throughout the match. The hug at the net was heartwarming. Rafa played flawlessly with only one bad game. The sleeveless shirt was great, but I could do without the pink shorts. The Nike full pink kits, the flamingos, are horrendous. Bring on Mayer!
WHY WAS THIS NOT ON TELEVISION. WHAT TIME WAS THIS MATCH PLAYED?
It was televised.
It depends on from what location you tried to watch it. The match occurred on Monday @ 7:15pm Australia time.
RAFA ROCKS SLEEVELESS
I noticed that Rafa stood much closer to the baseline to return serve in this match. Consequently he didn’t have to run so much. He also played inside the court more and created some lovely angles.
I hope he keeps this up and does not return to receiving serve from further back when confronted with the big servers.
I hope Moya can convince him not to regress to the old ways. I feel Moya’s influence was very much in evidence in this match.
Rafa very well played congratulation , stay aggressive and beat Mayer, good job.
Good start of the tournament. Vamos Rafa <3
A good workout for Rafa and an ideal way to start his campaign. Glad to see him moving freely and relaxed.