Nadal spins his way into third round with near flawless display

ByReuters

Published 16/01/2019 at 12:10 GMT

MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal picked apart second round opponent Matthew Ebden 6-3 6-2 6-2 at the Australian Open on Wednesday, in a near flawless display of top-spinning artistry.

Eurosport

Image credit: Eurosport

The second seed overcame an early first set challenge from the Australian, who should have secured a break-of-serve with the scores locked at 3-3.

Ebden missed a backhand volley off an unexceptional passing shot - and it proved costly.

The Australian was broken the next game, succumbing with a double-fault, and the Spaniard went through the broken line of defence.

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The 17-times Grand Slam winner was never seriously challenged again, and moved seamlessly into the third round where he will play either Alex de Minaur or Henri Laaksonen. (Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in MELBOURNE Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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