Rafael Nadal overcame a talented young opponent and an abusive fan in the crowd to reach the Australian Open third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Michael Mmoh. He will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who equalled his best grand slam result by beating Roman Safiullin of Russia 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Nadal had been comfortably navigating all of the challenges posed by his opponent when, while serving for the second set at 5-4, the match was interrupted by a rowdy female spectator shouting abuse as he prepared to serve. She then flipped her middle finger at him when he looked into the crowd. Play was halted for some minutes as the spectator was escorted out of the stadium and it produced the rare sight of Nadal breaking from his intense game face to laugh loudly at the absurdity of the situation. “Maybe she [drank] too much gin or tequila,” said Nadal. “For me [it] was funny. I was surprised, yes, but at the same time was thinking ‘poor girl’.” The brief pause was the only event that could halt Nadal and he immediately followed the commotion with consecutive aces to take a two-set lead. Nadal, who is competing with a back injury that has forced him to alter his service motion to minimise discomfort, continued to play direct and efficient tennis, stepping inside the court and taking the ball early. Their meeting on Saturday underlines the progress Norrie has made since returning from lockdown. It will mark his second consecutive third-round berth at a hard court slam and his first match against a member of the big three. “I was watching them when I was young and thinking it would be cool to play against one of them,” he said. “But I thought it was never going to happen. So it’s going be unbelievable and really looking forward to it.” Nadal, who has opened the tournament with consecutive straight-sets victories, said of Norrie: “Lefty. Good player. He has experience on the tour. Going be the toughest test, without a doubt. I need to be playing at a high level if I want to keep having chances to be through.” Nadal spoke about the condition of his back, which is still not progressing satisfactorily. He continues to serve with a relaxed motion, which was sufficient in the early rounds but will not be enough against better opponents. “We aren’t hoping for a miracle,” he said. “We’re hoping that things improve. I have been like this for 18, 19 days. It isn’t only a problem with my back – I cut my preparation. But, it isn’t the time to lament over anything. Simply continue looking forward. “I believe there are options that can give a solution, but it’s true that tomorrow is a key day because we’re going to try a series of things that if we don’t improve with the treatments, we are in a more limited situation.”