• Australian Open, Day Three

Rafael Nadal far too good for Lacko

Rafael Nadal shrugged aside Lukas Lacko © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal made a statement of intent with a 6-2 6-2 6-2 thrashing of Lukas Lacko to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

The Spaniard is striving for full fitness following a torrid time in 2009, but he looks to be moving in the right direction judged on his early efforts in Melbourne. He eased past Peter Luczak in round one and was equally impressive in the early hours of Wednesday.

Lacko was unable to get the grips with the power of the Mallorcan who wrapped up victory inside two hours. Philipp Kohlschreiber is up next for Nadal after the German got the better of Wayne Odesnik 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-2.

In the clash of the round, fourth seed Juan Martin Del Potro came through an epic five-set contest against former American No.1 James Blake. The US Open champion trailed by two sets to one before winning an 18-game decider to take the victory 6-4 6-7 5-7 6-3 10-8.

Andy Roddick was made to work hard for a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over Thomaz Bellucci. The American always looked on top but his victory was delayed by a series of Hawk-Eye challenges at match point, but Bellucci sent a forehand long to hand victory to Roddick. He later apologised for swearing at umpire Fergus Murphy after Bellucci used Hawk-Eye to successfully challenge a ball that had been called out, but he later admitted it had not been worth the argument.

"I was more wrong than I thought out on court," he said. "That being said, it was very close. To take away a match point at that juncture in a match - it's a big call." Roddick later posted on his Twitter page saying, "apologies for the language today folks hopefully most kids were asleep by the time I went off." He will face Feliciano Lopez in round three after he outbattled Rainer Schuttler 6-3 2-6 6-3 6-2.

Fernando Gonzalez set up a third-round clash with Evgeny Korolev after toppling Turkish No.1 Marsel Ilhan 6-3 6-4 7-5. Gonzalez's powerful and accurate forehand was too strong for Ilhan and the Chilean was happy with both his display and the atmosphere on court.

"It was really fun, like a Davis Cup atmosphere," he said. "I'm really happy to play here always. I come with great expectation for my fans. I have great memories some of the best tennis of my career has been here."

Australian fans stayed late into the night to watch home hopeful Bernard Tomic miss out on a place in the third round. The 17-year-old took the first set from Croatia's Marin Cilic and led 2-1 before the 14th seed came through to win 6-7 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-4, in a match that finished well after 0200 local time.

Cilic will now play Swiss No.2 Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round after a draining second-round battle lasting nearly four hours. "I'm very tired," he said. "He's very uncomfortable to play, he serves good and hits a lot of flat balls. I think he is going to be a tough player to play in the future."

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