Defending champion Rafael Nadal admitted he had been far from perfect after grinding down a man 15 years his junior to kickstart his bid for a 23rd Grand Slam title on Monday.
The Spanish top seed unleashed some of his trademark hammer forehands, but also made 46 unforced errors, before defeating Britan Jack Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the Australian Open. It put him into the second round for a 17th time and stretched his win-loss record at Melbourne Park to 77-15. He will next play Mackenzie McDonald, who beat fellow American Brandon Nakashima in a five-set thriller.
‘Super happy to be back’
“Super-happy to be back here in Australia one more time. It’s like the 19th season in the professional tour, so very excited about this new beginning,” Nadal said after the three-hour-41-minute test in blistering heat on the Rod Laver Arena.
Great Britain’s Jack Draper during his defeat to Rafael Nadal
“I needed a victory, so that’s the main thing. Doesn’t matter the way. The most important thing today is a victory against a tough opponent. We knew it was not going to be perfect…it was not perfect, but I think I did things well. So, satisfied with the victory because that gives me the chance to play again.”
It was a bit of a slog for Nadal, 36, who had lost six of his past seven matches, including his opening two this year. Little separated them in a first set notable for a bizarre incident in which Nadal complained one of his racquets had gone missing between games in the first set, when the Spaniard was leading 4-3. “I need the racquet back,” Nadal, looking bewildered, told the chair umpire. It was not immediately clear what happened, but it later emerged that Nadal had asked for his racquet to be restrung, only for the ball boy to take away the wrong one. “The ball boy took my racquet,” a smiling Nadal shouted to Draper.
Losing focus
After winning the first set, Nadal lost focus in the second as Draper, ranked 38, raced to a 4-0 lead before sealing the set. The Spaniard regrouped and broke early in the third set to move 4-1 up. Draper needed repeated treatment on his upper right leg, but against the odds, broke back before Nadal again stepped up. Draper was clearly struggling, grimacing in pain at times, and Nadal showed no mercy to race through the fourth set to victory.
Later, Nadal, who became a father for the first time in October and is playing his first Grand Slam since, expressed his gratitude to wife Mery Perello for travelling to Australia with their baby boy. “I don’t know my feeling if the baby’s not here with me for one month. I don’t know if after three weeks I miss him, and I lost a little bit of focus. Something I was not ready to accept, so I’m happy that my wife accepted to come here,” he said.
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