Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after a point against Germany's Florian Mayer during their men's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 17, 2017. Pic/ AFP

Melbourne: Rafa Nadal showed there was plenty of life in his battered body yet when he cast aside the disappointments of last year to reach the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over Florian Mayer on Tuesday.