Fit and firing Nadal, Sharapova blaze into second round

MELBOURNE - Rafael Nadal has missed a lot of tennis since last September, but he hasn't missed a beat.

The No 2-seeded Nadal had a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over Australian wildcard entry James Duckworth on Monday in the first round of the Australian Open, the Spaniard's first match back at Rod Laver Arena since he had to retire during his quarterfinal match last year.

The 17-time major winner hasn't played since retiring from his semifinal at the US Open because of a knee injury, and then had surgery on his right ankle in November.