Nadal suffered a new injury and was eliminated from the Australian Open

On the third day of action, the Australian Open experienced its first big upset. Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the first Grand Slam of the season after losing to American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round. The Spaniard, who was the last champion in Melbourne, suffered an injury to his left leg that conditioned him for the rest of the match. The Californian imposed conditions from the start, returning all of Nadal’s shots and shooting winning shots. Despite a small reaction that the Spaniard showed averaging the second set, the afternoon turned even grayer when he gave up his serve and was injured being 4-3 down on the scoreboard. The greatest Grand Slam winner in history went to the locker room and asked for medical attention. Although he returned to the court, with his physique visibly affected, he finished the match as best he could, until McDonald sealed the final 7-5. I’m tired, sad, disappointed,” Nadal told a news conference after the match. He added: “From here, I guess when things move forward the right decisions will be made, because I want to keep playing tennis. That said, don’t think I want to take a step back, it’s not the case, but my current feelings are bad.” In that sense, the current world number 2, opened up about the repeated physical discomfort he suffered in the last three Grand Slams, which took him a long time to recover. “It is evident that in the last three Grand Slams I have not been able to finish any in conditions: two abdominal ruptures, here I do not know what happens in the hip …”, he said. And he continued: “We can come here, put on a good face – which I do – and accept things – which I also do – but one does not have to deceive oneself and make an optimistic speech when it is not optimistic today.” With this defeat, Nadal missed the possibility of stretching his difference in the list of maximum champions of major tournaments. Now, the one who has the big chance is Novak Djokovic, who will seek to consecrate himself and equal the 22 titles of the Spaniard.

Original source in Spanish