Just the right start for Rafa, Murray

— -- The Australian Open likes to bill itself as the "Happy Slam," and why not? The Aussies are a friendly bunch. It's summery and casual Down Under, and the typical fan's uniform is a tank top and flip flops. But at least two lead actors on the ATP World Tour have good reasons to feel that the first major of the year isn't nearly as navigable and welcoming as their peers suggest in their Twitter and Facebook posts.

Take Andy Murray. Some years ago it seemed that the hard courts at Melbourne Park would be the studio in which his movement and superb defense enabled him to do his best work. He reached three finals and didn't win any of them. Immediately before the trophy presentation after the first of those losses, Murray warned winner Roger Federer: "I think there will be tears." Little did he know how much more heartbreak lay in store.

Then there's Rafael Nadal. Last year at this time, he stood astride the blue court on the floor of Rod Laver Arena as a colossus. Just months earlier, he had wrested ascendancy back from Novak Djokovic with wins over him at Roland Garros and the US Open -- Grand Slam titles Nos. 12 and 13 for Nadal. He was on the brink of a final assault on the Grand Slam singles title record held by his rival, 17-time champion Roger Federer. His opponent in the 2014 final was Stan Wawrinka, but Nadal's back seized up and no-Slam Stan emerged the champ. It was an omen: Although Nadal won the French Open again, injuries ruined him in the second half of 2014. It was the equivalent of a head-on collision with mortality.

So you could forgive Murray and Nadal for leaving the smiley-face T-shirts at home. They entered this tournament with serious business to tend to and good reasons to wonder if the "Happy Slam" would smile upon them -- or chew them up and spit them out, as it had before. By nightfall, though, both men had reason to feel guardedly optimistic.

Murray, the No. 6 seed, defeated the lowest-ranked player in the draw, No. 317 qualifier Yuki Bhambri. It may seem like a gift to Murray, but Bhambri has something Murray does not -- an Australian Open singles title. (Bhambri won the junior event in 2009.) Plus, his ranking is artificially low because of injury and time missed. Bhambri, who's 22, has been ranked as high as No. 143.

Murray won the match 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3), but not before he smashed a racket in frustration after he surrendered a break that allowed Bhambri to build a 4-1 lead in the third set. However, giving up the break was not the only source of Murray's frustration. Bhambri played well -- and in a Murray-esque way, which tends to make opponents want to break rackets. Imitation is also the most irritating form of flattery.

"I thought it was a tricky match," Murray told reporters later. "He played very close to the baseline on that court. He was coming forward a lot. Even when I was hitting good returns, he was changing the direction of the ball very quickly and coming to the net. He played well up at the net. He had good hands, solid volleys and made it tough."

The outstanding statistic of the match was Murray's winning percentage on serve. He put 64 percent of his first serves in and won 71 percent of those points. He was even better on the second serve, winning 79 percent (26 of 33).

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Murray struggled early in 2014, but he finished with élan, winning 21 of 26 matches and all three of his titles. The question hovering over him as this tournament gets underway is whether he will be able to carry that momentum into the new year.

Nadal's situation is more ambiguous. A wrist injury and appendicitis limited him to just seven matches from Wimbledon to the end of last year. Before Monday, he had played just one official match this year -- taking a baffling three-set loss to Michael Berrer in Doha.

Nadal, a sensitive realist, is much loved. He also has been much injured, and his frank ruminations on his future in times of crisis have almost always been tinged with pessimism. Just a few days ago, he was denying that he's one of the favorites to win the event. He said that may have been true last year, but this one is a "different story." He added that he was just looking for a good start to the year and hoping to stick around in Melbourne for a few more days.

Then he went out on opening day and made many wonder if he wasn't just trying to sandbag all of us. He showed up for his appointment with Mikhail Youzhny wearing a hot pink shirt, a fluorescent chartreuse headband and shorts with a stripe of what appeared to be shiny pink Mylar running down either side. Perhaps Rafa was worried that, having been out of the picture for so long, he wouldn't be noticeable.

Fat chance. From the moment he helicoptered that first forehand, Nadal looked devastating, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He had said in his pre-tournament news conference, "My game is always good when my movements are good, when I am able to have control of the point with my forehand, and always hitting good backhands. But the forehand need to be aggressive, I need to create space with my forehand."

You can take that as a fairly accurate description of exactly what happened, and add one detail: Nadal served exceptionally well. Youzhny won a grand total of eight points with Nadal serving, and the last of those was a double fault.

Granted, Youzhny is 32 years old, and we've seen this kind of thing from him before. (Who can forget that 2012 Wimbledon quarterfinal in which Roger Federer thumped him 6-1, 6-2, 6-2?) But given the gloom and doom that has surrounded Nadal, this win is likely to send his spirits soaring.

Expect nothing less from the "Happy Slam."