The Brazilian stunned the Centre Court crowd by rushing into a 4-0 lead in the first set, but Nadal quickly dug in to break back twice and took the opening set in an almost comically one-sided tie-break.
The press box benches that had filled halfway through the set emptied just as swiftly knowing that normal service had been resumed.
And it was one-way traffic thereafter as the Spanish star began his quest for a third Wimbledon crown in fine style with a straight sets victory.
Bernard Tomic admitted he had been "slacking off" following his 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 defeat by wildcard David Goffin in the Wimbledon first round.
The Australian teenager enjoyed a shock run to the quarter-finals last year as an 18-year-old, but on his return to Wimbledon's lawns was overwhelmed by a fresh-faced Belgian opponent.
"To have talent is one thing, it's huge for any sport," 20th seed Tomic said.
"But I have sort of slacked off a little bit and look what it's costing me. Last eight, nine weeks I'm losing a lot of first, second rounds. So it's not my quality of tennis.
"My quality of tennis should be getting me to a lot of semi-finals, finals at tournaments or even winning, but lack of concentration, not working hard, it costs you."
Tomic played well enough in the first set but Goffin roared back, bringing his inspired Roland Garros form to the grass courts on his Wimbledon debut. The Belgian reached the fourth round in Paris as a lucky loser.
"Well, look, he's 21. I'm 18, 19. I've gotten into the top 30," said Tomic. "It's different. He has time and he's going to obviously be a top-30 player. He has great groundstrokes.
"But I think what I've lacked the last few weeks is the consistency and it's tough to get."
Tomic will get an early chance to return to Wimbledon when he plays in the Olympic Games which start next month.
"I'm really lucky for that opportunity to have the Olympics coming up, which is, from my point of view, bigger than Wimbledon," he said.
"For any athlete I think it's something that I want to do well in and I'm thankful it's on grass."
Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, reduced to being a wildcard at the tournament he won 10 years ago, could never match the firepower of number five seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who eased to a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory in their first round match.
But the gritty Australian is certainly not ready to say goodbye to the place that means so much to him.
Coming off Number One court, he heard that he had also been given a wildcard to the Olympics at Wimbledon next month.
"At least I get to play here again. That is a bonus," he said.
Hewitt scuttles around the court like a feisty terrier, never giving up and chasing every ball to the ends of the court.
That doggedness brought him two grand slam victories, the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon the following year. It also armed him with the determination to battle against a string of injuries from groin problems to toe surgery.
"I'm proud of myself for what I have been able to do, all the hard work it's taken to get here," he said.
A 30-strong army of Hewitt fans, sporting green and yellow shirts and baseball caps in the colours of the Australian flag, chanted; "Let's Go Lleyton, Let's Go."
But their rousing cheers were never enough to raise the game of the diminutive Hewitt against the mighty Frenchman who is ranked sixth in the world and caused a major shock at Wimbledon last year when he beating Roger Federer after fighting back from two sets down.
Hewitt is 202nd in the world rankings and has won 105 matches on grass. Only Federer of active players, with 106, has more victories on the surface.
His devoted fans chorused "Walking along, singing a song, walking in a Hewitt wonderland."
It was in vain but at 31 years old Hewitt is in no hurry to head off into the sunset.
"I'd like to be back here next year," he said. "Absolutely.
"I'm an athlete. You never love losing. I'm still playing the game to compete, to be out there."
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