Sonego's commanding victory also included his first 'bagel' (a 6-0 set win) since the final of the 2024 Winston-Salem Open trophy - his most recent ATP title - and he was several classes ahead of his Spanish opponent in the service battle, recording 12 aces to one and just two double faults compared with Taberner's 11.
It was overall a positive day of Grand Slam tennis for Italy, now the global powerhouse of men's tennis following three consecutive Davis Cup victories, as Sonego joined teammates Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Luciano Darderi as Day 3 victors, following Francesco Maestrelli's first round victory over Terence Atmane on Monday.
Sonego has set up an enticing second round game against fifth seed Musetti, who he won a men's doubles title with in Hong Kong less than a fortnight ago.
The last time the pair met in a singles contest, Sonego defeated the seventh seed Musetti in the second round of the 2025 Paris Masters before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the third.
Congratulations on a clinical performance today, Lorenzo. Straight sets wins without tiebreakers have been hard to come by for you lately, so how did it feel to get through things a little easier today?
"It's always nice to play here. I love playing in Melbourne. They're good conditions for me with really fast courts. I can do a lot with my serve and can play to be aggressive with my first and second shots. That's my natural game and I think it played really well today and I'm happy about the result."
How did you react when you saw that the draw was setting you up for a potential second round showdown with your last doubles partner and compatriot?
"I need to improve my game, because Lorenzo (Musetti) is a really, really good player. He's number five in the world and I'll need to play my best in the second round. The key will be how I serve and return in these kinds of conditions."
Having beaten him in Paris only a few months ago, there must be no reason why you can’t do it again. You wouldn’t have had much time to look ahead but how confident are you of causing one of the biggest upsets of the singles draw?
"Every time we play it's a different game and we play in all kinds of conditions. That was at the end of the last season and I think he was tired. Now it is completely different - different conditions, different physically and mentally also. Let's see what happens."
With yourself and seven others in the ATP’s top-100, I’d like to ask as an Australian, what do you think makes Italian tennis so strong at the moment?
"I think we push each other when we practice together and play against one another a lot of the time. We have a big group and a lot of depth in the Davis Cup and the tour. We all have good relationships with one another."