The Australian got his Australian Open campaign underway with a stellar win over Marcos Giron who is a very tricky player to beat. The American has a very strong serve which can prove troublesome to overcome, especially on these fast courts in Melbourne. For Nadal, it was no issue at all as the Spaniard was ready for the challenge.
Coming out strong from the start he used both his break points in the first set to quickly race past Giron with 6-1. The American did not play well at all and Nadal was able to use that to his advantage. In the 2nd set Giron put up a much better fight but once again Nadal found a way. The score was 6-4 and never in doubt but Giron showcased a lot more fight than before.
That fight kind of evaporated in the final set as Nadal once again took control of the match. Giron never quite found his rhythm and his serve was lacking the entire match which makes this scoreline understandable. A 6-2 finish in the 3rd set allowed Nadal to keep the match time below two hours which is ideal for the Spaniard.
The win was Nadal's 70th total at the Australian Open which is another incredible milestone for the Spaniard.