Nadal strolls to victory

Melbourne - Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal defeated American Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in the opening round of the Australian Open on Monday.

Ten-time grand slam champion Nadal will play German Tommy Haas in the second round.

Nadal took just 1hr 46min to wrap up victory with six service breaks and only conceded two break-point opportunities against the 167th-ranked American throughout the three sets.

The Spaniard, who played with his right knee bandaged, claimed 17 of his 42 winners off his trademark forehand.

Nadal has a chequered record at the Australian Open, winning in 2009 but failing to make the semi-finals in three of his last five visits.