Famous person tennis participant Rafael Nadal didn’t have a easy first spherical on the Australian Open on Monday.
Every thing halted through the opening set of Nadal’s match in opposition to Jack Draper when the 22-time grand slam champion went to his court-side seat to modify tennis racket.
“It’s this one for the stringer, not that one,” Nadal may very well be heard explaining to the umpire.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain performs a backhand of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Photograph by Clive Brunskill/Getty Pictures)
Nadal then emphasised how badly he wanted his explicit racket.
“I would like the racket again! It’s not this one. I would like the dampener and all the things,” he added, referring to the small rubber piece some gamers put between the strings. The gadget is thought for serving to scale back the impression gamers really feel after they hit pictures.
The Spaniard had requested one in every of his rackets be re-stringed, however the ball boy took the incorrect one. At one level, Nadal turned to Draper to exclaimed “the ball boy took my racket.”
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Later within the match, Nadal was not sad when the lights turned on because the solar nonetheless shined contained in the stadium. “Now it’s bothering me loads,” Nadal informed the umpire whereas pointing as much as the floodlights. “The mixture of lights.”
After the match, Nadal known as the racket incident a “humorous scenario.”
“Usually, I’ve the variety of the rackets underneath management so I stated I would like the stringer, however I would like the stringer for the opposite racket,” Nadal defined, per Eurosport.
“So [the ball boy] picked the racket I used to be able to play with. However no downside in any respect.”
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates victory of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Photograph by Andy Cheung/Getty Pictures)
Nadal went on to defeat Draper in 4 units and advance as he targets a 3rd Australian Open title.
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Nadal gained the second grand slam of his profession in Melbourne final yr by outlasting Daniil Medvedev 2-6 6-7 6-4 6-4 7-5. “Final yr had been one of the vital emotional tournaments of my tennis profession, little doubt about that,” Nadal famous.
By successful his first-round match, Nadal continues the 26-year streak of a defending champion making it previous the Aussie Open’s first spherical.
Rafael Nadal of Spain performs a backhand of their spherical one singles match in opposition to Jack Draper of Nice Britain throughout day one of many 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia.
(Photograph by Mark Kolbe/Getty Pictures)
Nadal is the top-seeded males’s play at this yr’s match. Subsequent up, he’ll face Mackenzie McDonald within the second spherical.
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The unusual scene involving Nadal comes on the heels of Australian participant Nick Kyrgios’ choice to again out of the match as a result of a knee harm.
Kyrgios was hopeful of enjoying, successful the match in his house nation, and beginning the 2023 season in grand style. “Dangerous timing. Accidents are a part of the game,” he informed reporters Monday by way of Large World of Sports activities in Australia. “I am devastated clearly, it is my house slam.”