Nadal happy to get win on the board as Draper fitness issues hit hard
RAFAEL NADAL considered his firstround victory over Jack Draper at the Australian Open a step in the right direction even if he did not play anywhere near his best.
The defending champion has been short on matches and wins since tearing his abdominal muscle at Wimbledon and went into the clash having lost six of his last seven clashes, the worst run of his career.
He was very wary of exciting young British player Draper and the 21- yearold took the second set but then struggled with cramp from the third set onwards as Nadal came through 7- 5, 2- 6, 6- 4, 6- 1.
Djokovic sounded downbeat about his thigh injury in his press conference on Saturday and only has until Tuesday night, when he faces Roberto Carballes Baena, to get match fit.
Nadal shrugged off his 46 unforced errors against Draper, saying: “I need a victory, so that’s the main thing. It doesn’t matter the way. We knew it was not going to be perfect, as I said the other day. It was not perfect.”
The 36- year- old could play Daniil Medvedev in the quarter- finals in a rematch of last year’s final, and the Russian made a convincing start, defeating American Marcos Giron 6- 0, 6- 1, 6- 2 in the night session.
Draper prepared
Jack Draper vowed to work tirelessly to improve his physical conditioning after being struck down by cramp during a four- set loss to defending champion Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.
The draw had handed the 21- yearold rising British star a blockbuster clash with his childhood idol on his debut at Melbourne Park, and an opportunity to really break through onto the world stage given Nadal’s poor form.
A run of six defeats from seven matches heading into the year’s first grand slam was the worst of his career.
Draper looked capable of causing the upset when he took the second set on Rod Laver Arena but physical struggles have hampered his career so far and he began to cramp in the third set before hobbling through the final stages.
“Going to this trip in Australia, I was very undercooked, to be honest,” he said.
Draper made his Wimbledon debut against Novak Djokovic on Centre Court in 2021 so this was not an entirely unfamiliar situation, although his ambitions were significantly higher this time.
Nadal was solid enough in the first set, taking advantage of a couple of poorly executed drop shots from Draper, but the momentum shifted at the start of the second.
Still Nadal was shaky but Draper’s serve and groundstrokes now lacked the necessary weight and, although he broke again to open the fourth set, his body gave out on him completely half way through.
“I just need to investigate why I’m getting [ cramp], but also know that I’ve only just started really with my fitness trainer that I’ve invested in,” Draper, said.
Draper earned positive words from Nadal, who said: “He’s a great player with a lot of potential, young. A great future in front, I think. So it was a tough, tough match. Full respect for him. Wish him well for the future.”
Kyrgios suffers injury
Meanwhile, The Australian Open was dealt a major blow when a “devastated” Nick Kyrgios announced his withdrawal ahead of his scheduled first- round match on Tuesday.
The Australian No. 1, considered one of the favourites after reaching his first grand slam singles final at Wimbledon last summer, had not played a warm- up event because of a knee injury. He contested a charity match against Djokovic on Friday and did not indicate his participation was in doubt, but he called an impromptu press conference yesterday.
“I’m devastated, obviously,” said Kyrgios. “It’s my home tournament. I’ve had some great memories here.
“Then going into this event as one of the favourites, it’s brutal. All I can do now is just look forward, do what I need to do and come back.”