Nadal makes easy progress in Australia

Rafael Nadal swatted away the threat posed by American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov to reach the second round at the Australian Open.

Once an absorbing opening set went the 25-year-old Spaniard’s way, there was no doubting which way the match would go as Nadal cruised to a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory on Hisense Arena.