A lot on his mind but not No. 20
Top seed Nadal, with 19 Majors is one short of Federer’s mark, but is focused only on the next tie
Rafael Nadal says he’s thinking about his next opponent ... and his next practice session ... and trying to recreate the superb tennis he played in his straight sets victory in the Australian Open’s first round.
What he insists is not on his mind is the number 20—as in Roger Federer’s record 20 Grand Slam singles titles, which Nadal would equal by claiming the trophy at Melbourne Park.
“I don’t care about 20 or 15 or 16. I just care about (trying) to keep going, keep enjoying my tennis career. It’s not like 20 is the number that I need to reach. If I reach 20, fantastic,” Nadal said on Tuesday, raising his hands in the air.
“If I reach 21, better. If I (stay at) 19? Super happy about all the things that I did in my tennis career, no?”
He must have been pleased with the way his 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 win over Hugo Dellien went.
That was built with a 38-15 edge in winners and breaks in eight of Dellien’s 11 service games.
Nadal, at age 33 the oldest No.1 in ATP history, owns 19 Major championships, but only one came in Australia, 11 years ago.
Twelve, of course, were collected at the French Open, four at the US Open and two at Wimbledon.
“I won the US Open a few months ago, and I was super happy in that moment. But today I’m happier than if I didn’t win the US Open? Probably not,” Nadal said with a hearty laugh. “The only thing I can do is put all my efforts on (trying) to keep going the best way possible. The rest of the things, the future will see.”
ANISIMOVA’S RETURN SLAM
Fast rising American teenager Amanda Anisimova played her first Grand Slam match since her father, who also coached her, died last year.
His sudden passing came just before the US Open, so she withdrew from that tournament.
Anisimova reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2019 at age 17, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to get that far at a Major. She was ranked 51st at the time and unseeded.
Now 18, she was seeded 21st at Melbourne Park, but was beaten 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 by Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.
GULBIS GROUNDS FAA
Felix Auger-aliassime is considered a future star of men’s tennis, a 19-year-old from Canada who was seeded 20th at the Australian Open—and is already out after a first round loss against
Ernests Gulbis, who once was a young up-and-comer himself.
Back when he was in his 20s, Gulbis reached the French Open semi-finals and earned a spot in the top 10 of the ATP rankings. A series of injuries waylaid his career, including a back problem in 2019; he entered Tuesday ranked only 256th and needed to go through qualifying just to get into the main draw.
Made the most of it, though, beating Auger-aliassime 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
“We saw the good Gulbis today,” Auger-aliassime said.
The 31-year-old Gulbis, who is from Latvia, described himself as “emotional when I was walking back to the locker room, because it’s not easy. Its not easy to come back. It’s not easy to play Challengers. But these moments are really worth it.”
HALEP SURVIVES
Simona Halep overcame a wrist injury scare and a fiery opponent to prevail 7-6(5), 6-1 over big hitting American Jennifer Brady in a tense first round encounter.
The Romanian fourth seed required a medical timeout after taking a nasty fall on her wrist late in the first set, but said later that there was nothing to worry about.
“A little bit sore, but nothing dangerous at this moment,” Halep said.
The fall was reminiscent of Halep’s opening match at the 2018 Open, where she rolled her ankle ahead of a sensational run to that year’s final before losing to eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki.
“I don’t know why in the first round always I fall down. Maybe it’s a good sign. Let’s hope for that,” Halep joked.
Brady, who beat world number one Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane earlier this month, proved to be a tricky opponent whose punishing forehands saw Halep’s serve broken in the very first game of the match at Margaret Court Arena.
The opening set saw a series of brutal rallies between the pair, with Halep having to fight from a break down twice and save three set points before finally edging out Brady in a tense tie-breaker.