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WATCH: Nadal pokes fun at sleeping journalist

Cape Town - Spanish world No 2 Rafael Nadal has poked fun at a journalist who appeared to fall asleep during his post-match press conference at the Australian Open on Monday.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over Australian wildcard James Duckworth.

While another journalist asked a question, Nadal spotted the sleeping journalist and began to laugh, prompting chuckles across the room.

Nadal then said: "It's not interesting today," which abruptly woke the journalist.

"I know, you were closing your eyes to be more focused on what I was saying,' Nadal continued as he made light of the embarrassing situation.

After an injury-plagued 2018, Nadal was back to his devastating old self as he raced through in 2 hours and 15 minutes against Duckworth.

"It was good. It is normal that beginnings are tough, but every day helps and every day makes me feel better, makes me feel more confident," added Nadal, who limped out of both the Australian and US Opens last year.

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