Nadal, who got a first-round bye, defeated Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 to advance.
Novak Djokovic vanquished Andy Murray for the fourth time in an Australian Open final on Sunday to win a record-equalling sixth title and serve notice to his rivals that he could surpass even his stellar 2015 this year.
List of Australian Open men's singles champions since the event began in 1905 (Australian unless stated):
World No 1 Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win the US Open title at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Sunday.
Roger Federer glided to victory on another hot, steamy day at the US Open, the envy of a clutch of men's players made to work overtime on Tuesday at the season's final Grand Slam.
Photos from Day 5 action at the Western & Southern Open at Cincinnati on Thursday.
Angelique Kerber's first Grand Slam match since winning the Australian Open in January ended in despair after she was beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in the French Open first round in Paris, on Tuesday.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion will turn up for Indian Aces against Singapore Slammers in the third leg on Sunday.
Top 10 seeds David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet raced into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday, apparently eager to make the most of relatively mild conditions at Melbourne Park.
For over three-quarters of a century men's tennis in Japan has played out like a kabuki tragedy, filled with decades of barren results, embarrassments and even a suicide.
World No 1 Serena Williams kept her Wimbledon title defence on track on Sunday, downing Germany's Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 with a crushing display of power and booming serves.
Murray had battled his way back from two sets down in the second round against France's Adrian Mannarino, but could not work another miracle against the 14th-ranked, 29-year-old Anderson, who swept the final tiebreak 7-0.
A summary of the matches from Day 9 at the French Open.
Alize Cornet fought tooth and nail but the local favourite's French Open run came to an end when she was knocked out 6-2, 7-6(9) in the fourth round by Ukrainian 19th seed Elina Svitolina on Sunday.
Photos from matches on Day 2 at the Australian Open on Tuesday
It was job well done for Novak Djokovic as he silenced Bernard Tomic and his Australian Fanatics with an emphatic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the Wimbledon third round on Friday.
'Djokovic is playing some of the best tennis in the history of the game.'
Rafael Nadal is recovering satisfactorily from appendicitis and will continue a course of antibiotics in a bid to be fit for the remainder of the 2014 season, the World No 2's spokesman said on Thursday.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.