Nadal's outfit hard to miss!

Melbourne - After nearly six months away, Rafael Nadal is back. And he's hard to miss.

Nadal outshone his first-round opponent Mikhail Youzhny, literally and sartorially, decked out in a pink florescent tennis shirt and a neon yellow wristband to match his sneakers.

Nadal told the on-court interviewer after his first-round win that his many months away from the tour because of injuries and an appendix surgery had battered his confidence. The commentator responded by pointing to Nadal's shorts and saying he suspected the Spaniard didn't suffer from lack of confidence.

"I don't think many men could pull off this pink reflector," the commentator told Nadal, drawing stadium-wide laughter as he pointed out the neon pink stripe down the side of Nadal's white shorts.

Nadal joined the laughter, saying these were his "party" shorts for the past couple of months during his time off.

"I just like bright colours," Nadal added. "Australia is a happy country, a sports country. People here bring me positive energy, so it's the right place to wear that."


Rafael Nadal's Round 1 Australian Open outfit (AFP)