Rafael Nadal's day-glo outfit and his ferocious forehands lit up a gloomy Queen's Club on Wednesday as the Spaniard marked his return to grass with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Brazilian journeyman Marcos Daniel.
Second seed Novak Djokovic gave the fans who had sat through several rain break a thumbs up after he joined Nadal in the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Italy's Paolo Lorenzi.
Nadal, the 2008 champion, was unable to defend his title 12 months ago when his creaking knees ruled him out of playing any competitive matches on the manicured lawns of Queen's or Wimbledon.
"It's difficult to compare (how I felt this time last year) because...one year ago I was injured and now I am not injured. That's the big difference," the 24-year-old, who lifted a fifth French Open crown and regained the world number one ranking at the weekend, told reporters.
On Wednesday, there was nothing wrong with his knees, his tactics or his confidence -- but his outfit might have raised a few eyebrows in a country more used to seeing tennis players turn out in all-white.
Nadal bounded on to an overcast Centre Court sporting a luminous green jacket, bag and bandana and appeared to be in a race against time to finish off the match before the heavens opened over west London.
BEWITCHING WINNERS
With just eight minutes on the clock, Nadal had flattened Daniel with an assortment of bewitching winners to race into a 3-0 lead, showing the kind of form that helped him to complete the French Open-Queen's-Wimbledon treble in 2008.
It was little wonder that as a low flying helicopter drowned out yet another wave of prolonged applause for the Spaniard, Daniel looked up longingly at the rotorcraft perhaps wishing it would drop down on a line to rescue him from Nadal's onslaught.
There was no such luck for the Brazilian and he lost the first set when he was broken for the second time with a delightful angled winner from Nadal.
The seven-times grand slam champion's charge was briefly halted at 2-1 in the second set but after a 15-minute rain burst, he returned to court and ended Daniel's torment with a crafty service return.
While Nadal extended his winning streak on grass to 13, with his last defeat coming to Roger Federer in the 2007 Wimbledon final, Djokovic saved himself a long workout by saving all six break points he faced to down the world number 96 Lorenzi.
The Serb was also glad to feel the grass under his feet after his claycourt season ended with a heartbreaking five-set loss in the French Open quarter-finals.
"It's always nice to play on the grass. Thinking of the tradition and the history that goes with the surface, there is a lot of motivation to play well here in Queen's and of course at Wimbledon," said Djokovic, who was runner-up to Nadal here two years ago.
"I was disappointed after my French Open loss as I played really well and I thought I could challenge Nadal in the next round. I'd love to challenge him here instead," he added.
Fifth seed Marin Cilic survived an early scare to go through with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 win over France's Nicolas Mahut and eighth seed Feliciano Lopez, a Spaniard who loves to serve and volley, continued a good day for the seeds with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.
