Rafael Nadal vs. Mikhail Youzhny: Score, Reaction from 2015 Australian Open

In pursuit of his second career Australian Open title, Rafael Nadal opened his 2015 tournament with a commanding straight-set victory over Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, Monday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Although he's the third seed in the tournament, quite a few are doubting Nadal, with health being the biggest reason why. There was the wrist injury that took Nadal out of the 2014 U.S. Open last August. Then, in November, he had appendix surgery.

"I don't consider myself one of the favorites here," Nadal said before the tournament began, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "I would be lying if I say I feel that I am ready to win."

In Youzhny, Nadal faced a pretty stern test for the opening round. Only a small handful will have been bold enough to predict an upset, but a Youzhny win wouldn't have been a total shock.

Instead, Nadal made quick work of the 32-year-old Russian. The 14-time major winner wasn't quite the force of nature he tends to be in big matches, but he rarely had to break a sweat throughout the three-set affair. Youzhny never presented much of a challenge.

All in all, Nadal couldn't have asked for a better start:

Youzhny did make a good run at Nadal in the first set, matching the Spaniard blow for blow through the first four games. Then, critical double faults gifted Nadal a service break to go up 3-2. Nadal held serve from there to secure the first set 6-3.

The New York Times' Christopher Clarey quite rightly pointed out that Nadal had looked great in the first set against Michael Berrer in the first round of the Qatar Open. Berrer eventually won the match in three sets:

Unlike the Berrer match, Nadal kept the pressure up in the second set and squeezed the life out of Youzhny. He was particularly dominant on serve throughout the set, winning all but one of his 17 service points.

Brad Gilbert pointed out that Youzhny's struggles on serve—he lost over half of his service points in the second set—were doing him no favors:

Whatever game plan Youzhny had going into the match went out the window at that point.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim joked that Nadal was as dominant as Uriah Hall in his UFC Fight Night 59 victory over Ron Stallings:

Going up two sets was also foreboding for Youzhny given how often Nadal's won at Grand Slams when taking a 2-0 set lead, per ESPN Tennis:

"

Nadal closes out the 2nd set 6-2. The No.3 seed is a perfect 141-0 when winning first 2 sets in Majors. #ESPNTennis pic.twitter.com/5trGP5ljMM

— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 19, 2015"

The third set played out much as the first and second had, with Youzhny enjoying fleeting moments of solace before once again finding himself at the mercy of Nadal.

In the second round, Nadal will play either Luke Saville or Tim Smyczek in the second round. He's never played either man, so it will be a new experience for him.

It's a bit premature to say that this victory dispelled all of the doubts surrounding Nadal and that he's jumped ahead of Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in terms of top contenders to win the men's draw.

For Youzhny, this match is more affirmation of how far he's fallen behind the best the game has to offer. Once a top-10 player, he's made two Grand Slam quarterfinals since 2011. Youzhny's one of those players who could give the top seeds trouble in big tournaments, but his days of regularly making deep runs at majors appear to be done.

Note: Stats are courtesy of AusOpen.com.