Los Angeles Times

Nadal falls in second round

-

MELBOURNE, Australia — A clearly hurting Rafael Nadal lost his second-round match at the Australian Open to Mackenzie McDonald, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday, abruptly ending his title defense and bid for a recordexte­nding 23rd Grand Slam trophy.

It was not immediatel­y clear what was bothering the 35-year-old Spaniard, but he pulled up awkwardly at the end of a point late in the second set against the 65th-ranked McDonald, a former UCLA standout.

The No. 1-seeded Nadal was visited by a trainer on the sideline, then left the court for a medical timeout. Up in the stands, his wife wiped away tears. Nadal returned to play but was physically compromise­d and not his usual chase-every-ball self.

This is Nadal’s earliest exit at any Grand Slam tournament since bowing out in the first round in Melbourne in 2016 against No. 45 Fernando Verdasco. That also made Verdasco the lowestrank­ed player to defeat Nadal in Australia — until

McDonald on Wednesday.

McDonald is a 27-yearold Northern California native who won NCAA championsh­ips in singles and doubles for UCLA in 2016. He has never been past the fourth round at a major tournament. In his lone previous matchup against Nadal, at the 2020 French Open, McDonald won a total of just four games in his lopsided loss.

“I’m really happy with how I started that match. I thought I was playing really well, serving great, returning well too,” McDonald said. “So I was really taking it to him.”

Nadal won the Australian Open for the second time a year ago for his 21st major championsh­ip, then raised his total to 22 — the most for a man — at Roland Garros. He is ranked No. 2 but was the top seed at Melbourne Park because No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is sitting out with a bad leg.

Nadal has dealt with a series of health issues recently. He needed pain-killing injections for his left foot on the way to winning the French Open last June, pulled out of Wimbledon last July before the semifinals because of a torn abdominal muscle and also dealt with a problem with rib cartilage last year.

Earlier, No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek eased into the third round as she beat Camila Osorio of Colombia 6-2, 6-3. In a match played with the roof closed because of rain, the Polish player was broken when serving for the match at 5-1 but sealed victory two games later.

The reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion will play either Bianca Andreescu of Canada, the former U.S. Open champion, or Cristina Bucsa of Spain.

“It was much tougher than the score says,” Swiatek said. “It was really intense physically. She didn’t give me many points for free. It was tough but I am happy that I was consistent in being proactive.”

Third-seeded Jessica Pegula was tested by Aliaksandr­a Sasnovich before coming through 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Andy Murray beat a top-20 opponent at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2017, eliminatin­g 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini in five sets.

Novak Djokovic returned to Melbourne Park and beat 75th-ranked Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in the first round.

 ?? Jason Heidrich Icon Sportswire/Getty ?? ANDY MURRAY celebrates after beating 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10-6) in a match that took more than 41⁄2 hours. It was Murray’s first win over a top-20 foe at a Grand Slam since 2017.
Jason Heidrich Icon Sportswire/Getty ANDY MURRAY celebrates after beating 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10-6) in a match that took more than 41⁄2 hours. It was Murray’s first win over a top-20 foe at a Grand Slam since 2017.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States