"It's a dream come true to win a first round in my first Grand Slam," he beamed.

"I'm just thrilled that I could pull off a win today. With the crowd behind me, it was an unbelievable experience."

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The fresh-faced wildcard, ranked 764, was roared on by strong crowd support as he toughed it out in all three tie-breaks to win in three hours and 15 minutes.

He said a practice session with World No 1 Nadal had given him a big boost before the match.

"It gave me a lot of confidence. It was great to hit with the No 1 in the world," he said. "It's a great experience. I was just happy about that. Happy now that I won."

Tomic also stood out with his distinctive wrap-around shades, which he said protect his eyes and help him serve in the glaring Australian sun.

"It's the sun that's been killing me the last few months around Gold Coast and Queensland. I've started using them a little bit more. It's good to wear them. It protects your eyes, so it's good," he said.

"The sun's really bad here. You can't see your ball toss when you're throwing it. To have sunglasses is pretty good for me, I think."

He thanked the crowd at Margaret Court Arena and said their support had been crucial for the win.

"They just lifted me even more when I needed it. That was the main thing. If the crowd wasn't there, I wouldn't have pulled it off in the end," he said.

"It was good for them to be there. Hopefully I can have a better crowd in the next match."

Tomic is 11 years younger than Starace, 27. He will next face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, 25, who upset 27th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in a gruelling five-setter.

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