World Number one tennis player Rafael Nadal is successfully through to the third round of Australian Open 2020. However, on Thursday the Spaniard had to work like a Trojan in the second set against his lefty opponent, Federico Delbonis. Rafa won 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-1 in two hours and 30 minutes.

The Spaniard experienced the Rod Laver Arena’s surface to be slow. According to some reports, he shared that the balls in Melbourne were heavy. Rafa was expecting a speedy court, but he landed up playing on a sluggish one. Also, he just converted three break points out the 20 he faced. His first-round match was scheduled during the day and the second one was during the night session. And as a consequence, he took some time to adjust to those changes.

“It was the first time playing during the evening here, and the conditions were cooler and slow,” said Nadal. “It was a tough match, I lost an awful lot of opportunities on the break points, but I found a way to win. I think in the third set, I was more relaxed and play aggressively.”

Eventually, by playing some dominant tennis in the second-set tiebreaker aided him to close out the match in three sets. “I am happy that I was able to serve all the first serve in the tie-break and play, I think, a good tie-break,” said Nadal. “I needed to win that second set. In the third, again, I played much better… I need to play better. Especially, I need to convert the break points.”

“She was a super brave girl” – Rafael Nadal

During the second-round match, Nadal made a ball girl’s day with a peck on her cheek. Rafa unintentionally hit her with a groundstroke while returning Delbonis’ serve. The very next moment he apologized and kissed her. “She was a super brave girl. That was one of the scariest moments when the ball struck her on the head,” the Spaniard said.

Read More – WATCH: Rafael Nadal Wins Hearts by kissing a Ball Girl at Australian Open 2020

Up next the 19-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will be seen in action against his compatriot and the 27th seed at Aussie Open, Pablo Carreno Busta.