MELBOURNE – Rafael Nadal needed five match points before putting away tenacious German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann at the Australian Open on Wednesday and continue his march towards a record 21st Grand Slam title.
The Spanish world No. 5 was always in command in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win in 2 hours, 42 minutes in hot conditions on Rod Laver Arena to stride into round three.
“He is a player with big shots, good serve and he has very high potential,” Nadal said of the 126th-ranked Hanfmann, who put up more of a fight than the score suggested.
Next up for Nadal is either Russian 28th seed Karen Khachanov or Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
Nadal, with two service breaks, took the opening set after 48 minutes with a backhand winner to the top corner.
The meticulous Spaniard kept moving Hanfmann around the court and claimed another service break with a forehand winner for 5-3 and served it out for a two-sets lead.
Another early service break had Nadal on the way in the third set but he needed five match points to close it out.
His 5-0 record in 2022 is a strong start after an injury-disrupted last year, but he is yet to face a top-60 player in the new year.
Nadal, the only Australian Open champion in the men’s draw after nine-time winner Novak Djokovic’s deportation on the eve of the tournament, is vying with Djokovic and Roger Federer to reach a men’s record 21st Slam crown.
Naomi Osaka stepped up the defense of the women’s title with a composed 6-0, 6-4 beating of Madison Brengle to move a step closer to a blockbuster clash with top seed Ashleigh Barty.
Barty, chasing a first title at her home Grand Slam, barely broke sweat as she powered past Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1.
The Japanese 13th seed raced through the first set but had to work hard in the second on Rod Laver Arena before eliminating the 54th-ranked American to make the third round.
She will meet another unseeded American next after Amanda Anisimova upset Tokyo Olympic champion and 22nd seed Belinda Bencic 6-2, 7-5.
Anisimova is on a seven-match win streak after claiming the Melbourne Summer Set title in the build-up to the Grand Slam and should pose a sterner test.
But if Osaka can win she faces the prospect of a mouth-watering fourth round battle with world number one and Wimbledon champion Barty, who has dropped just three games so far and looks in ominous touch.
The pair could meet early due to Osaka’s seeding -- her lowest at a Slam since the 2018 US Open -- after a truncated 2021 when she took time out to deal with mental health issues.
“I’m just trying to take it one day at a time,” she said. “The goal for me is just to have fun and I’m really grateful to my team because I feel we are accomplishing that.
“I returned pretty well today,” she added. “I’ve been really working on it during the off-season so glad it came in handy.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has won two of the past three Australian Opens, wasted little energy on Brengle in the first set.
She immediately broke to take control and raced through in just 20 minutes, with her opponent hitting zero winners and managing just 10 points.
Laughing and smiling on court, Osaka held serve to open the second set before Brengle won a huge round of applause by finally getting on the scoreboard for 1-1.
It lifted the American and Osaka faced a harder fight, with her unforced error count mounting.
Brengle’s pressure finally paid off in game seven when she broke on her fourth match point when Osaka fluffed an overhead volley.