Nadal added Ebden's scalp to that of his first round opponent, James Duckworth, with another straight sets victory - 6-3 6-2 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.

The world No.2 now takes a third local, facing Australia's best hope in teenager Alex de Minaur on Friday night.

Nadal said he was well aware of de Minaur's prodigous talent with the 19-year-old, who has a Spanish mother, splitting his time between Spain and Australia.

"He's a great young player, playing with big confidence after winning matches," Nadal said.

"It will be tough one and I need to be ready for it."

Playing his second tour match since the 2018 US Open, Nadal showed no signs of any injury in a dominant display.

Nadal pulled out of his US Open semi against Juan Martin del Potro due to knee pain before undergoing ankle surgery in November.

Ebden, ranked world No.48, didn't play all that bad but had no answer to Nadal's booming groundstrokes with his forehand doing most of the damage.

The 32-year-old Spanish powerhouse only made 15 unforced errors for the match.

Nadal was happy with how his game was tracking.

"He (Ebden) is not an easy opponent and it's been a very positive victory for me," Nadal said.

"Today has been a very important step forward for me - the way that I played has been very positive."

Australian Associated Press