World number three Rafael Nadal moved into the third round of the Australian Open as he edged past his American qualifier Tim Smyczek in a pulsating five sets thriller in Melbourne.
The fiercely contested match that lasted four hours and twelve minutes saw Nadal defeating his American opponent 6-2 3-6 6-7 (2- 7) 6-3 7-5 to carve out a victory to reach the next round of the first grand slam of the year.
The Spaniard, who began on a confident note by claiming the first set by 6-2, stumbled in the next two sets to give Smyczek a 2-1 advantage before the start of the fourth set.
Subsequently, Nadal overcame Smyczek in the next two sets to grab the winning point after losing three match points in the final deciding set.
Nadal will now meet Dudi Sela of Israel in the third round.
