In the end that was quite the anticlimax.

Nadal, who was far from his best throughout the match advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over a physically decimated Jack Draper.

Cramp began to set in for the 21-year-old Brit in the third set and though he fought valiantly his physical problems became too much.

By the end of the match Draper could barely get up to serve and his second serve was registering at just over 100kph in what was a meek end to his Australian summer.

For Nadal the win was far from impressive.

The Spaniard frequently missed forehands by big margins and in a rare site his unforced errors tallied a higher amount than his winners 46-41.

Nadal said the last year was one of the most emotional of his career but added that after poor form to end 2022 and start 2023 this win would help him.

"Just super happy to be back with a victory that I needed," Nadal said.

"The last couple of months haven't been easy but hopefully this victory will help me."

Nadal had lost five of his last six matches on tour dating back to The Paris Masters in October, his only win coming against Casper Ruud at the ATP Finals in Turin.

He had suffered losses to Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Felix Augr-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Alex De Minaur before today's victory.

Asked about his performance Nadal deflected slightly and praised his opponent.

"If we put in perspective all the situation I went through the last six months ... I played against one of the toughest opponents possible not being seeded here," he said of Draper.

"We are going to see him playing a lot of years here having good results."

Mackenzie Macdonald awaits Nadal in the second round after the American upset countryman Brandon Nakashima in five sets.