Nadal rolls into 3rd round with Aussie walkover

MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal put on a clinical performance early Wednesday to ease past German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the third round of the Australian Open.

With the win, the sixth-seeded Spaniard remained on course for a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.

The only former champion left in the men’s draw at Melbourne Park, Nadal is tied at 20 majors with Swiss Roger Federer and No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion, had his only previous meeting with the 126th-ranked Hanfmann on the Roland Garros clay in 2019, when Nadal lost just six games en route to a straight-sets victory.

The 30-year-old German did slightly better on a windy day at the Rod Laver Arena, but it was not enough to trouble Nadal, who hit 30 winners and broke his opponent’s serve four times in the match while saving both breakpoints he faced.

Nadal needed five match points before sealing victory when Hanfmann sent a forehand long. He will next meet either Russian Karen Khachanov or Benjamin Bonzi of France for a place in the fourth round.

On the women’s side, Ash Barty was front and center when the Australian Open celebrated its inaugural First Nations Day — but not for long.

The top-ranked Barty has Indigenous heritage and her second-round match at Melbourne Park’s main stadium was among the features of a program dedicated to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

She was on and off the court quickly, beating 142ndranked qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1 in 52 minutes.

“Really cool . ... Nice for me to be a part of it in a way I feel most comfortable,” Barty said. “On a day when we’re bringing culture together ... it was really nice for me to go out and enjoy that.”

Barty extended her streak of service holds to 48 games and moved into the third round at Melbourne Park for the sixth consecutive year.

Next up for Barty will be a match against another Italian, 30th-seeded Camila Giorgi.

In the day’s opening match on Rod Laver Arena, eighth-seeded Paula Badosa had a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.

In other early second-round results on Day 3, twotime champion Victoria Azarenka beat Jil Teichmann 6-1, 6-2 and will next face No. 15-seeded Elina Svitolina, who was leading 6-3, 5-7, 5-1 when Harmony Tan retired from their second-round match.

No. 21 Jessica Pegula beat fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-4, and Madison Keys had a 6-2, 7-5 win over Jaqueline Adina Cristian.