Despite the predictable win at the much-hyped battle over the weekend, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain was quick to admit that Australia's 199th seed Bernard Tomic is a tricky opponent and not an easy one to play.

Taking the third-round clash in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, The Herald Sun noted that Nadal appeared openly 'rattled' during the match especially in the second round where he was 'forced to fight back from a 4-0 deficit in the second set'.

"He's a kind of player that is very difficult to play against," Nadal was quoted as saying by The Herald Sun, adding that the style of the 18 year-old Queenslander is 'not easy to play'.

The much-awaited battle over the weekend proved Tomic as an 'emerging star' and fellow Australian players are confident that the teenage ace is the future of the game.

Watching Tomic while in the United States, Australian tennis ace, Rod Laver asserted that the young player 'exposed weaknesses in Nadal's game'.

Laver who is recorded as the only player to win the Grand Slam 'twice' said that Tomic 'showed some good form all the way through'.

"He wasn't embarrassed playing Nadal and I think Nadal was a little embarrassed with what Tomic had done to him," Laver reiterated, according to The Herald Sun.

Roy Emerson, Australia's winner of 12 Grand Slam titles supported Laver's claim, saying the strategies displayed by Tomic 'rattled' the World No.1.

"Nadal seemed to be a little worried, particularly in the second set with the change of pace that young Bernard was doing, and it was upsetting the rhythm of Nadal," Emerson was quoted as saying by the Heraldsun.

Before the match Saturday, the teenage player Tomic warned during an interview after defeating 31st seed Feliciano Lopez, that Nadal would be 'uncomfortable confronting his variety and change of pace'.