Famous person tennis participant Rafael Nadal didn’t have a easy first spherical on the Australian Open on Monday.
Every little thing halted through the opening set of Nadal’s match in opposition to Jack Draper when the 22-time grand slam champion went to his court-side seat to change tennis racket.
“It’s this one for the stringer, not that one,” Nadal might be heard explaining to the umpire.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain performs a backhand of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Picture by Clive Brunskill/Getty Photographs)
Nadal then emphasised how badly he wanted his specific racket.
“I want the racket again! It isn’t this one. I want the dampener and all the things,” he added, referring to the small rubber piece some gamers put between the strings. The system is thought for serving to scale back the impression gamers really feel after they hit photographs.
The Spaniard had requested one among his rackets be re-stringed, however the ball boy took the fallacious one. At one level, Nadal turned to Draper to exclaimed “the ball boy took my racket.”
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Later within the match, Nadal was not sad when the lights turned on because the solar nonetheless shined contained in the stadium. “Now it’s bothering me quite a bit,” Nadal informed the umpire whereas pointing as much as the floodlights. “The mix of lights.”
After the match, Nadal known as the racket incident a “humorous scenario.”
“Usually, I’ve the variety of the rackets underneath management so I mentioned I want the stringer, however I want the stringer for the opposite racket,” Nadal defined, per Eurosport.
“So [the ball boy] picked the racket I used to be able to play with. However no downside in any respect.”
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates victory of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Picture by Andy Cheung/Getty Photographs)
Nadal went on to defeat Draper in 4 units and advance as he targets a 3rd Australian Open title.
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Nadal gained the second grand slam of his profession in Melbourne final yr by outlasting Daniil Medvedev 2-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 7-5. “Final yr had been some of the emotional tournaments of my tennis profession, little question about that,” Nadal famous.
By profitable his first-round match, Nadal continues the 26-year streak of a defending champion making it previous the Aussie Open’s first spherical.
Rafael Nadal of Spain performs a backhand of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Picture by Mark Kolbe/Getty Photographs)
Nadal is the top-seeded males’s play at this yr’s match. Subsequent up, he’ll face Mackenzie McDonald within the second spherical.
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The unusual scene involving Nadal comes on the heels of Australian participant Nick Kyrgios’ choice to again out of the match on account of a knee harm.
Kyrgios was hopeful of taking part in, profitable the match in his house nation, and beginning the 2023 season in grand vogue. “Unhealthy timing. Accidents are a part of the game,” he informed reporters Monday by way of Vast World of Sports activities in Australia. “I am devastated clearly, it is my house slam.”
