Nadal claims 4-set victory
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal never truly seemed in danger of becoming the first Australian Open defending men’s champion to lose in the first round since his current coach, Carlos Moya, managed to beat Boris Becker a quarter of a century ago.
Still, this was not a vintage performance by Nadal, who came into Monday’s matchup against 21-year-old Jack Draper with an 0-2 record in 2023 and six losses in his Last seven outings overall. After nearly two hours of so-so play, Nadal found himself even at a set apiece.
He appeared to be pulling away, taking advantage of his opponent’s bout with cramps on an afternoon with the temperature at about 85 degrees, when suddenly Draper went up by a break in the fourth set. From there, though, Nadal wouldn’t drop another game, beginning his pursuit of a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam championship with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win that took more than 3 hours in Rod Laver Arena.
“I need a victory, so that’s the main thing,” Nadal said. “Doesn’t matter the way.”
That’s good, then, because the 36-year-old from Spain wasn’t in peak form. All in all, it was a bit of a struggle. He tried to put a silver-lining spin on things, nonetheless, given his recent track record and knowing that he tore an abdominal muscle twice in the last six months.
“I was humble enough to accept that (there were) going to be a little bit of ups and downs during the match,” Nadal said. “(That’s a) typical thing when you are not in a winning mood.”
Both men are lefthanders, but that is pretty much where the similarities end, whether in terms of style or age or experience or accomplishments.
Nadal, who’s seeded No. 1 because top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz is sidelined with an injury, is appearing in his 67th Grand Slam tournament. Draper, ranked a careerbest No. 38 this week, was making his fourth trip to a major and his best showing was getting to the third round at the U.S. Open last September.
Draper also has faced problems dealing with steamy conditions: In his ATP Tour debut at the Miami Open in March 2021, he collapsed on court and needed to stop playing after one set.
Nadal’s next opponent will be Mackie McDonald, a past NCAA champion at UCLA who won an all-American matchup against Brandon Nakashima that lasted 4 hours by a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-7 (10), 6-4 score.
The No. 1-seeded woman, Iga Swiatek, followed Nadal into Laver for the night session and found herself in a tight second set before reeling off the last four games to eliminate 69th-ranked Jule Niemeier 6-4, 7-5.
The biggest surprise of the day came off the court: the withdrawal of Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who needs surgery on his left knee.
“I’m devastated, obviously,” said Kyrgios, a 27-year-old from Australia who won the men’s doubles championship at Melbourne Park a year ago.