Rafael Nadal in a ruthless mood, demolishes Christophe Rochus

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal conclude the first round of the Australian Open tournament by dominating Christophe Rochus 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena.

He showed no sign of the knee problems that sidelined him at the end of last year.

Nadal said he just wanted to get off to a good start and wasn’t trying to send a message.

Nadal, who reached the semifinals last year and is seeking his sixth Grand Slam title, finished with 47 winners to seven for Rochus and also blasted 10 aces.

The 75th-ranked Belgian, managed to laugh several times because basically there was little he could do.

The match only took 77 minutes . Rochus joked that he might need to consider a change in professions.

Nadal said it’s too dangerous to show any mercy.

“Sport is like this,” Nadal said.

“If I had some mistakes … anything can happen.”

"I'm just trying to improve and to be humble because every match is different and every match is tough."

"I'm very happy because I'm over the injury and at one of the greatest tournaments in the world."

Even my puppy loves this match!

(Via AP, ABC News; Images by Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

Surfer boy Evgeny Korolev & motorcycle chick Caroline Wozniacki ready for round 2

Evgeny 'Baby Marat' Korolev and Caroline Wozniacki made it through the first round yesterday at the Australian Open.

And earlier today, they took a short break from the tournament; hunky Evgeny did some photo shooting with his surfboard while Caroline took a Harley ride.

Caroline said that she would love to get her own motorcycle one day. Look at how excited she is!

Tomorrow Evgeny will have a tough draw against Roger Federer and Caroline will play against Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.

(Images by Fiona Hamilton/AFP/Getty Images))

Australian Open: The fans win on Day 2!

What a boring second day at the Australian Open!!!

Firstly, Andy Murray was handed a win after Andrei Pavel retired due to back injury. Surprisingly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recovered from his backache and had an easy win over Juan Monaco.

There were no upset earlier today except for Agnieszka Radwanska who lost to Kateryna Bondarenko.

Other seeded players who won it easily are Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Serena and Venus Williams as well as Jurgen Melzer who beat Asian favourite Kei Nishikori.

Even Fernando Gonzalez win over homeboy Lleyton Hewitt was an expected one.

For the full results, click here.

Before I leave for dinner, I would like to say that the winners today are not the players but it's THE FANS!

Don't you just love how colourful the Australian Open is! :D


(Images via Yahoo! Sports; Forty Deuce, AO official website)

Bryan Brothers jam out at Prince EXO3 Player Party

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan put up a great performance at the Prince EXO3 Player Party at the Southern Star Observation Wheel on the eve of the Australian Open.

Bob showed good form on the keyboard, while Mike gave the drums a good pounding.

Mike Bryan plays the drums.

Bob Bryan on the keyboard.

Guess what, Frenchman Gael Monfils also ended up on stage, taking over from Bob on the keyboard!

Vince Spadea and Gael Monfils

The Prince team organised the party for its players to take a spin on the Observation Wheel.

However Daniela Hantuchova missed the party at the very last minute.

Apparently she suffers from a form of motion sickness and did not want to risk a spin in the wheel on the eve of the Open.

(Via news.com.au)