Nadal advances in Australian Open

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia

Rafael Nadal’s quest to complete his “Rafa Slam” at the Australian Open started with a first-round victory that lasted only 47 minutes and helped conserve plenty of energy.

Nadal led 6-0, 5-0 when his Brazilian opponent Marcos Daniel retired with a left knee injury.

The 24-year-old Spaniard sympathized with Daniel. Nadal retired from the last Australian Open with an injured knee in a quarterfinal loss to Andy Murray. But he recovered quickly and won the next three majors and is now aiming to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam trophies at the same time.

“It’s terrible feeling, for sure. I wish him all the best for a fast recovery,” Nadal said after the match. “Last year was a really difficult time when I played this tournament. I came back here playing well ... but to go out like that was hard mentally.

“Finally, I had a very good season in 2010.”

Good season is the understatement of the tournament. Nadal won the French Open, then Wimbledon and finally claimed his first U.S. Open title. With Tuesday’s victory, he’s now on a roll of 22 consecutive match wins in Grand Slam tournaments.

“I came back after a difficult situation. Winning Roland Garros was very important, it allowed me to play the rest of the season with a little bit more calm.”

Daniel had a medical time out at the end of the first set and had his left knee heavily strapped.

When the Brazilian had a break point in the second game of the second set, he raised both arms and received a rousing cheer from the crowd.