World No.1 Rafael Nadal has brought Lleyton Hewitt crashing back to earth with a straight-sets second-round mauling at the Miami Masters.

Hewitt had joined Nadal and Roger Federer as only the third active player to notch 600 career match wins with his first-round victory over Robin Haase at the prestigious hardcourt event.

But the former world No.1 was no match for the current top dog on Saturday, falling 6-1 6-3 in 66 minutes.

The top-seeded Spaniard and his veteran Australian opponent took to the court two and a half hours late due to long matches that preceded them.

But Nadal, who received a first-round bye, ripped through the opening set in 27 minutes and eventually dispatched double grand slam winner in barely an hour.

“It’s great for me to be back after not playing since 2012. I really enjoy it here,” Nadal said.

“There was no better way to start my return than with a win like this.”

Nadal next faces Denis Istomin, who beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-7 (8-10) 6-0 6-3.

Nadal took his sixth win in a row over Hewitt, improving to 7-4 in their rivalry.

“I have the greatest respect for Lleyton,” Nadal said. “He’s a great example to me and the other players the way he has come back from injuries.

“He always keeps fighting.”

Serbian second seed and three-time Miami champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round when opponent Florian Mayer retired a day before their scheduled match with a groin injury. Djokovic will next play on Tuesday.

Reigning Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka downed Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0 3-6 6-3 to reach the third round.

The third-seeded Swiss raced through an 18-minute opening set, winning the first seven games before eventually losing the second set.

Wawrinka recovered on cue in the third with an opening break to advance in just under 90 minutes and then admitted he is still adjusting to his new status as a grand slam winner.

“I still have some ups and downs mentally. I was negative in the second set a little bit stupidly, but then I’m really happy with the way I started the third set,” Wawrinka said.

Wawrinka, 14-1 this year, fired eight aces and broke four times in only his fourth ATP match since beating Nadal to capture his first major title.

Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych began with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win over Frenchman Stephane Robert while 10th seed John Isner defeated Donald Young 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4.