Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts during his first round match against Serbia's Laslo Djere at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021.
The lingering back soreness that bothered the 20-time major champion ahead of the Australian Open wasn't going to stop him from finishing his first-round match as quickly as he could.
Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to 15 matches with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Vasek Pospisil and seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
“Coming out here and really enjoying the thrill of the fight.”Garbiñe Muguruza, the Australian Open runner-up last year, defeated Margarita Gasparyan 6-4, 6-0.
Two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren also went through the hard lockdown.