Nadal bows out of Australian Open
Defending champion Rafael Nadal bowed out of the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday after suffering an injury during his 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald.
Nadal’s elimination shakes up the men’s draw and puts a twist in the Grand Slam titles race, with nine-time champion Novak Djokovic able to draw level with the Spaniard’s 22 major championships should he take a 10th crown at Melbourne Park.
Nadal appeared to suffer a strain in his left hip area while running for a backhand deep in the second set at Rod Laver Arena and after receiving attention from a trainer he took an off-court medical time-out when trailing 6-4 5-3.
He returned grim faced to play out the match but his movement was clearly affected, particularly on his backhand side, paving the way for McDonald to end the Spaniard’s bid for a third title at Melbourne Park.
Before the injury McDonald had played superbly to take the first set, going toe-to-toe with the 36-year-old Spaniard and winning most of the ferocious baseline exchanges.
“He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation so even closing it out against a top guy like that is always tough,” said McDonald.
“I was trying to stay so focused on what I was doing and he kind of got me out of that with what he was doing. But I kind of just kept focusing on myself and got through.
“Last time I played him was at Chatrier, he kicked my butt,” said McDonald, who took only four games off Nadal in the second round of the French Open in 2020.
“It’s tough to hit through on clay but I liked my chances on hard, I really wanted to take it to him on hard court. I’m really glad I got my chance and got away with it.”
After Nadal’s time-out, he returned to court to a big ovation and earned another round of applause when he held serve.
His gloomy expression told the story, though, and he declined to retrieve a drop-shot in the next game, shaking his head at his worried entourage.
McKenzie took the second set when Nadal whacked a forehand into the net, and the Spaniard thudded his racket into his chair at the change of ends.
Leaning heavily on serve and relying on touch, Nadal dragged McDonald deep into the third set but was finally broken to 6-5 when the American bolted forward to flick a passing shot past him.
Nadal attacked the net in a desperate last stand but there was to be no repeat of the “Miracle of Melbourne”, when he came back from two sets down in last year’s classic final to beat Daniil Medvedev.
Felix Auger-Aliassime avoided a humbling exit from the second round, cutting out the mistakes to secure a thrilling 3-6 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 comeback win over Slovakian Alex Molcan.
Backed as a potential champion at Melbourne Park by no less than John McEnroe this week, the Canadian sixth seed looked like slumping out of the year’s first Grand Slam after an error-prone first two sets on Margaret Court Arena.
The 22-year-old appeared to get fired up by a complaint to the umpire about the state of the balls early in the third set, however, and suddenly was a different player, serving like a dream and imposing his game on the world number 53.
“It’s quite simple, you have to put the ball in the court without missing,” AugerAliassime laughed, explaining the transformation.
“At the end of the day, it’s not rocket science. So, I was just trying to put one more ball in the court and make it simple, make it work.”
It was quite a contrast with the opening two sets when AugerAliassime overcooked his shots on both sides and sprayed 25 unforced errors, with Molcan gleefully taking advantage.
“The numbers show it but he was just way more consistent than I was in the first two sets,” AugerAliassime conceded.
“I was just trying to find a way to stay a little bit longer on court, to make the match tough and make it last longer.
“When I was able to clinch that third set, I got a lot more of belief in myself, my thoughts were a lot more positive and then I was thinking: ‘I’ve done it before maybe I can do it again, come back and win’.
“I’m really thrilled I was able to get it done. It was a tough day for me.”
The Canadian, who lost the first set of his opening match against compatriot Vasek Pospisil on Monday, wrapped up the contest in just over three hours with a rasping forehand - the fifth time in his career he has come back to win a five-setter.
A quarterfinalist in Melbourne last year, Auger-Aliassime will next play Argentine 28th seed Francisco Cerundolo or France’s Corentin Moutet.