Melbourne, Australia, Jan 18: Second-seeded Rafael Nadal maintained his perfect record against Tommy Haas, beating the veteran German 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 Wednesday in a second-round match at the Australian Open.
Nadal earned service breaks in the first and last games of the match to beat Haas, the oldest player in the men's singles draw at 33, for the fifth straight time—and without ever dropping a set.
The Spanish lefthander went into his first-round match against Haas with concerns over his right knee—a twisted tendon that he injured while sitting down awkwardly at his hotel.
With the knee heavily taped Wednesday, he showed no obvious signs of discomfort to advance to a third-round match against the winner of the Donald Young-Lukas Lacko match to be played later Wednesday.
