nadal, australian open
Rafael NadalReuters

Does the King of Clay Rafael Nadal have it in him to win the first tennis grand slam of the calendar year 2017? The 30-year-old Spaniard won the Australian Open back in 2009 and his last grand slam win came at French Open 2014. 

Close to three years now. Has Nadal still got in him?

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That needs to be seen as the veteran goes head to head with Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday in the second round of Australian Open men's singles. Nadal won comfortably in his first round match against Germany's Florian Mayer, recording a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 score. Can the momentum continue now?

"I am happy (with) the way I am playing. I had good weeks of practice. (It's) never easy (in) the first round," the Spaniard said after his first round victory. "I played good (on) all the key points. That's very important for me."

Baghdatis, 31, meanwhile, who has still not won a grand slam yet in his career but has reached the final of Australian Open 2016, didn't have to break a sweat in his first round match of this edition as his opponent Mikhail Youzhny, had retired hurt while the scores were 6-3 3-0 in favour of the Cypriot.

Head to head record: Nadal-Baghdatis

Total matches: 9

Nadal won: 8

Baghdatis won: 1

Aus Open 2017 round 2 schedule

Date: January 19

Time: 7 pm local time onwards (around 2 pm IST, 8:30 am GMT, 3:30 am EST onwards)

Venue: Rod Laver Arena

Order of play:

Serena Williams vs Lucie Safarova

Rafael Nadal vs Marcos Baghdatis

Where to watch live

India: TV: Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv and Yupp TV.

Australia: TV: Channel 7. Live Streaming: 7 Live.

UK: TV: EuroSport. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.

USA: TV: ESPN. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.

Live updates: Aus Open Twitter.