Schwartzman beats Molleker to move to Australian Open 2nd round

Melbourne, Jan 14: Argentina's Diego Schwartzman on Monday defeated Germany's Rudolf Molleker 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to move to the second round of the Australian Open.

The 18th-seed Schwartzman played well to pass the first hurdle in the year's opening grand slam, having arrived in Melbourne after losing in the semifinals of the Sydney International to Andreas Seppi, reports Efe news.

The Argentine is set to play Denis Kudla of the US in the second round, after the American beat local youngster Marc Polmans.

Schwartzman had lost to Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal in the pre-quarterfinals last year and could meet the Spaniard again in a rematch.