Australian Open overnight: Smooth sailing for Nadal, Barty on Day 2

The first Grand Slam of 2021 is in full swing. Each morning, we'll review the action you may have missed Down Under. Here's what happened overnight on Day 2 of the Australian Open.

Top story: Rafa rolls on in Melbourne

If Rafael Nadal has a bad back, he didn't show any signs of it in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Laslo Djere in the first round at the Australian Open.

The No. 2-ranked Nadal is aiming to go one better than Roger Federer and win a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam singles title.

He didn’t play for Spain at the ATP Cup last week and has been troubled by stiffness in his lower back.

“Well, it's been a tough 15 days for me. I had some issues with the back,” Nadal said in his post-match interview. "I needed to survive today. That’s what I did.

“Straight sets — that’s what I need.”

Russia's ATP Cup-winning combination had relatively easy first-round wins.

Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to 15 matches with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Vasek Pospisil and seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Australian wild-card entry Alexei Popyrin defeated No. 13 David Goffin 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6, (6), 6-3.

Flawless Barty pitches a shutout

Top-ranked Ash Barty dominated in her first Grand Slam match in more than a year, dropping just 10 points in a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Danka Kovinic in the first round of the Australian Open.

Barty lost in the semifinals of last year’s Australian Open to eventual champion Sofia Kenin, then skipped the French Open and U.S. Open because she stayed in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before winning last week’s Yarra Valley Classic warm-up tournament, Barty hadn’t played a competitive match since last February.

Very little went wrong against Kovinic: Barty hit just five unforced errors (compared with 28 for Kovinic) and converted on six of eight breakpoint chances. The match lasted just 44 minutes.

Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, said after the match she missed tennis “every single day” during her long time away from the sport.

“The competitor in me missed what this is all about,” she said. “Coming out here and really enjoying the thrill of the fight.”

Gauff sets up meeting with Svitolina

American 16-year-old Coco Gauff is into the second round at the Australian Open.

Gauff advanced by beating Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2. The youngest player in the tournament, Gauff served out the first set with three aces in the final game and gained momentum from there.

Ranked 48th, Gauff faces a tough second-round opponent in No. 5-seeded Elina Svitolina, who also won her opening match.

A year ago Gauff advanced to the round of 16 in her Melbourne debut, and that run included an upset victory over Naomi Osaka. Gauff also reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2019, making a big splash in her first Grand Slam appearance.

History for Egyptian tennis

Mayar Sherif has made history for Egyptian tennis, beating fellow qualifier Chloe Paquet 7-5, 7-5 in the first round of the Australian Open to become the first woman from her country to win a Grand Slam match.

Sherif became the first Egyptian woman to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament when she made the main draw at last year’s French Open. Now, she’s gone a step further.

“Obviously, it means a lot because finally this is a barrier that I had to pass, a mental barrier,” she said, adding she was “very, very happy with my accomplishment and I’m going for more.”

Given her recent success, Sherif’s fame is growing back home. She said she’s often stopped on the streets in Egypt to take photos with fans.

“It’s such a great feeling, especially when kids come and they recognize me,” she said. “I want them to believe in themselves and to see me and look at me and say that we can be like her.”

Rublev picks up where he left off in 2020

Rising star Andrey Rublev of Russia has won his opening match at the Australian Open, beating Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Rublev won five tour-level titles last year, the most of any player, and his ranking is a career-high No. 8. At 23 he’s a three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist who had his best showing in Melbourne last year, when he reached the round of 16.

Rublev hit 17 aces against Hanfmann and overcame an early break, holding serve the rest of the way.

Tsitsipas feels the love from Aussie Open crowd

Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas capped the Day 2 program on Rod Laver Arena by routing French veteran Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

Tsitsipas has a lot of support within Melbourne's large Greek community and felt at home in an extended on-court interview.

Tsitsipas says “I honestly wasn’t expecting it to come so easily. It was a great match from my side,”

There will be fans with divided loyalties in his next match against Australian wild-card entry Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.

Kokkinakis has Greek heritage and also has a big following despite his ranking dropping to 267 following struggles with illness and injuries.

He hit 19 aces in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over Kwon Soon-woo.