Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal cruised to the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday (January 23) after defeating Argentina's Federico Delbonis in straight sets to progress through to the next round.

However. the current world number one portrayed an adorable moment during the match when one of his backhanded shot accidentally ended up hitting a ballkid on her head.

The 33-year-old immediately rushed over to console her and gave a kiss on her forehead.

Nadal outplayed Delbonis 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 in the second round tie to secure his spot.

Speaking about the incident at the post-match interview, Nadal said: "For her it was not a good moment, I was so scared for her, the ball was quick and straight on her. I'm very happy she is good. She is brave. Well done." 

He also expressed his thoughts on how he missed out on a lot of opportunities but ultimately found his rhythm to win the match.

"It was a tough match. I lost a lot of opportunities on break point but found a way to finally win the second set."

"In the third I was more relaxed, more aggressive and found better play in that set," he added.

Nadal is now set to take on fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round on Saturday.