Tennis: Tomic is sure he won't clam up against Nadal

Nadal, who was leading Marcos Daniel 6-0, 5-0 in round one before the Brazilian retired, was pushed slightly harder by American Ryan Sweeting but the outcome was still a formality as Nadal cruised home 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

He will now play Tomic, who stunned 31st seed Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 on Hisense Arena. It is the match-up Australia was hoping for and is guaranteed prime-time billing on Saturday night.

Nadal said of the 18-year-old: "He's very young but he has the potential to be in the top positions in the future. I will have to play well if I want to win."

Nadal, who claimed he will warm up for the Tomic match with a trip to the local aquarium, felt there were a couple of minor things to work on from his victory against Sweeting.

"I think I played a solid match. A few mistakes with the backhand, that's all," he said.

"My serve improved a lot compared to the first match. I think I served very well today.

"Maybe I have to play a little bit more aggressively, more inside the court but in general I am happy."

Tomic, pictured right, who has had his brushes with authority in the shape of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open organisers, appears to be maturing and he is confident he can cause a huge upset against Nadal.

"I can't believe that I'm playing him. What an opportunity it is. It's a dream come true. I've got nothing to lose," he said. "I'm hitting the ball great. My confidence is up there, especially after two matches. I'll just have a go. I don't think he'll like my game. I think the way I mix it up, he's not going to like."

Frenchman Michael Llodra was another seed to fall early on day four, the Frenchman losing 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Milos Raonic of Canada, but Mikhail Youzhny, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marin Cilic all progressed.

Tenth-seed Youzhny beat Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 while Tsonga (13) and Cilic (15) did not lose a set against Andreas Seppi and Santiago Giraldo respectively.

Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Benjamin Becker, while 32nd seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez overcame Eduardo Schwank to set up a possible third-round encounter with Andy Murray, who was due to face Illya Marchenko this morning.

In the men's doubles, Colin Fleming, from Lilithgow, lost in the first round alongside partner Ross Hutches to Israeli 14th seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. There was better news for Jamie Murray, however, the Scot defeating 9th seeds Dick Norman and Wesley Moodie 6-4, 6-0 with Xavier Malisse.