RAFAEL NADAL'S mission to add to his 14 grand slam titles in 2017 received an early boost as the Spaniard saw off Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets at the Brisbane International.
The 30-year-old world No.9, without a Major title since he won the French Open in 2014, needed only an hour and 16 minutes to dismiss Ukrainian Dolgopolov 6-3 6-3 in Queensland in his first match of the year.
Nadal, seeded fifth on his debut appearance at this hard-court tournament, will next face Mischa Zverev after the German defeated teenage qualifier Alex De Minaur, also by a 6-3 6-3 scoreline.
Standing in the way of British hopeful Kyle Edmund is Lucas Pouille, through to the second round following his 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) victory over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon.
There were also wins for Sam Groth, Jared Donaldson, Viktor Troicki and Diego Schwartzman, who vanquished Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Gilles Muller, Yoshihito Nishioka and Sam Querrey respectively.
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