Rafael Nadal of Spain makes a backhand return to Bernard Tomic of Australia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday. AP
MELBOURNE, Australia—After a day of searingly-hot temperatures that raised complaints from players, top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the second round of the Australian Open in cooler night temperatures under relatively easy circumstances.
Nadal’s Australian opponent Bernard Tomic, clearly bothered from the start by a leg injury, retired from the match after losing the first set 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena. Some in the capacity crowd of 15,000 booed lustily when Tomic indicated he could not continue.
Earlier, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and defending champion Victoria Azarenka advanced amid temperatures that reached a high of 42 Celsius on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Federer set a record for most consecutive Grand Slam appearances.
Maria Sharapova was to play American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the last match of the night.
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