Spanish 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz made the perfect start to his Grand Slam career, marking his main-draw debut at the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory over fellow qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands.

“I'm very happy to this win today in my first Grand Slam, my first win at a Grand Slam,” said Alcaraz, who will face Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the second round. “I tried to enjoy it, to play my game – I think I did it.”

It was a good day for the Spanish contingent in Melbourne, with five of seven Spaniards in action advancing, including 2009 champion Rafael Nadal – a 6-3 6-4 6-1 winner over Laslo Djere – and Feliciano Lopez, whose 75th consecutive major appearance began with a 6-7(1) 6-4 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Australian wild card Li Tu. But No. 12 seed Roberto Bautista Agut crashed out, beaten 6-7(1) 6-0 6-4 7-6(5) by Moldova’s Radu Albot.

All eyes were on the state of Nadal’s back, a pre-tournament concern as he bids for a 21st Grand Slam title and his second at Melbourne Park.

“Today it's not great,” Nadal admitted. “I needed to change a little bit the motion of my serve – that's what I tried to survive that condition today. Tomorrow, a day off; after tomorrow, another match. I need to go day-to-day and just try to stay positive.”

Asked about Alcaraz, Nadal had some words of wisdom for the tyro who trained with him prior to his Grand Slam debut.

“He has intensity, he has the passion, he has the shots,” Nadal said. “He has all the ingredients to become a great champion. Then it's all about how much you are able to improve during the next couple of years – that will make the difference… I really believe that he will have a great future because he's a good guy, humble, hard worker. He has a lot of positive things.”

Australian wild cards returned a hat-trick of victories on Tuesday, with Thanasi Kokkinakis notching his first win at Melbourne Park since 2015 after a rollercoaster few years battling a series of injuries.

The 24-year-old beat Soonwoo Kwon of Korea Rep. 6-4 6-1 6-1, while Chris O’Connell downed Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 and Alexei Popyrin produced a stunning victory over David Goffin, beating the Belgian No. 13 seed 3-6 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(6) 6-3.

Lloyd Harris’s 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Danish Lucky Loser Mikael Torpegaard leaves him flying the flag for South Africa in Melbourne after No. 9 seed Matteo Berrettini beat Kevin Anderson 7-6(9) 7-5 6-3.

And in the battle of the qualifiers, USA’s Michael Mmoh edged past Viktor Troicki of Serbia 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 3-6 7-6(3) 7-5. Mmoh will face Nadal in the second round.