Berankis sets up Nadal showdown in Melbourne, Cilic secures 550th win

Melbourne, Jan. 5: Ricardas Berankis will face Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Melbourne Summer Set after beating Marcos Giron on Wednesday.

Nadal made his return after a five-month absence due to injury when he and fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar beat Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 3-6 10-4 in a doubles match in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The 20-time grand slam champion will be back in singles action against Berankis at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday after the Lithuanian qualifier dispatched American Giron 7-5 6-4.

Fifth seed Benoit Paire was trailing 4-6 6-3 5-2 to Henri Laaksonen when the Frenchman retired from the contest.

Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson advanced on home soil, beating Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 and Christopher O'Connell 1-6 7-5 6-4 respectively.

Munar beat towering South African Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4, while Emil Ruusuvuori, Alex Molcan and Maxime Cressy also made it through.

Marin Cilic racked up the 550th victory of his career at the Adelaide International 1, defeating Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Third seed Cilic will now come up against Laslo Djere, who was level at one set apiece with Corentin Moutet when the Frenchman was disqualified after reportedly swearing at the umpire.

Thanasi Kokkinakis fought back to oust Frances Tiafoe in the final match of the day, the Australian wild card winning 3-6 7-5 6-1.