Defending champion Rafael Nadal battled past a man 15 years his junior and kickstart his bid for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open Monday.
The Spanish top seed unleashed some of his trademark hammer forehands, but also 46 unforced errors, before wearing down Briton Jack Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in blistering heat on Rod Laver Arena.
It put him into the second round for a 17th time and stretched his win-loss record at Melbourne Park to 77-15.
He will next play Mackenzie Mcdonald, who beat fellow American Brandon Nakashima in a five-set thriller.
"Super happy to be back here in Australia one more time. It's like the 19th season in the professional tour so very excited about this new beginning," he said.
"It's a victory I needed. I played against one of the toughest opponents possible in the first round. He's young, he has the power and I think he has a great future in front of him."
But it was a tough slog for the 36-year-old who had lost six of his past seven matches, including his opening two this year.
Little separated them in a first set notable for a bizarre incident in which Nadal complained one his of racquets had gone missing.
He kept his cool and waited for his chance, which came at 6-5 on Draper's serve when he earned a set point and converted with a searing cross-court winner.
But Nadal lost focus in the second set as Draper raised his game and raced to a 4-0 lead before sealing the set.
The Spaniard regrouped and broke early in the third set to move 4-1 in front, winning the long rallies. Draper needed repeated treatment on his upper right leg, but against the odds broke back before Nadal again stepped up.
Draper was clearly struggling, grimacing in pain at times, and Nadal showed no mercy to race through the fourth set to victory.
Elsewhere, Frances Tiafoe won his first-round match at the Australian Open but it was the American's outrageously colourful kit which set tongues wagging.
The world number 17 wore a matching vest and shorts that had squiggly haphazard lines of blue, purple, red, yellow and white.
Tiafoe's brazen outfit in his four-set win over Germany's Daniel Altmaier was the talk of social media.
Tiafoe faces China's 17-year-old Shang Juncheng in round two at Melbourne Park.
Teenager Shang Juncheng created a slice of history by becoming the first male Chinese player to win an Australian Open main draw singles match, a feat he called "huge" for his country.
The 17-year-old qualifier, the youngest player in the men's draw, battled past Germany's Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-5 in nearly three hours to progress.
After saving two break points in the opening set, he did not face another as he sealed the win on his third match point at Melbourne Park.
Tsitsipas shows fighting spirit
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas credited his fighting spirit for helping bank a fifth straight win of the year Monday to speed into the Australian Open second round, as he targets a maiden Grand Slam title.
The 24-year-old Greek outplayed Frenchman Quentin Halys, ranked 61, to win 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) at Margaret Court Arena.
He will play either German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann or Australian wildcard entry Rinky Hijikata next.
Tsitsipas led the ATP Tour for most matches won (61) last year and reached seven finals, winning two of them.
He has started 2023 in the same vein, winning all five matches so far this season after going 4-0 at the warm-up United Cup for Greece.
Pegula tribute to Hamlin
World number three Jessica Pegula raced through her first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday, then revealed she had still found time to watch her beloved Buffalo Bills win an NFL playoffs match.
Pegula, whose billionaire parents own the Bills, was in ruthless form as she won 6-0, 6-1 against 161st-ranked Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.
She then drew a heart on a TV camera and wrote "Go Bills #3" in a tribute to Damar Hamlin, the Bills player who suffered a cardiac arrest on the field earlier this month.