Rafael Nadal battles past Hugo Dellien to reach Australian Open second round
Rafael Nadal was made to work for his place in the second round before beating Hugo Dellien at the Australian Open.
The world number one was the sure-fire favourite going into the tie with his 72nd-ranked opponent but found life difficult in the second set in particular.
However, the 33-year-old stepped up and made it count when necessary to seal a 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 victory at the Rod Laver Arena.
It's not often the Spaniard benefits from being flattered by the scoreline but for the first hour and a half, there was very little between the two players.
Indeed, the match time of over two hours indicated that and 26-year-old Dellien, a player little-known by many tennis fans, was keen to put on a show.
The all-action Bolivian showed grit and determination, as well as an impressive range of groundstrokes, as Nadal struggled to break out ahead of his opponent.
He finally made the break stick in the third and there was little Dellien could do to stop him other that take a few points of him from time to time.
After a flurry of breaks in the second set, Nadal finally locked his down and needed only 36 minutes to move further into the distance with a two-set lead.
Dellien's belief had disappeared and the South American looked exhausted after a huge effort on court. Nadal took no prisoners though, sealing the bagel in the final set to cap an impressive win in second gear.
