Rafael Nadal won his opening Australian Open match earlier today, but not without one of his racquets going missing.
The Spaniard took on Britain’s Jack Draper and while winning 4-3 in the first set, the great Spaniard noticed something wasn’t right. During the changeover the defending champion at Melbourne Park held up proceedings as he noticed his racquet was nowhere to be seen.
He tired to locate it but it became apparent that one of the ball boys had accidentally taken the racquet that the tennis legend was still using. "It's this one for the stringer, not that one," a flustered Nadal attempted to explain to the bewildered umpire. "I need the racquet back! It is this not one. I need the dampener and everything. The ball boy took my racquet!"
“They've taken his racquet that he's using at the moment, that he wants,” commentator Mark Petchey laughed. “Hopefully they haven't cut the strings out of it.” Though he had several more racquets to choose from, fellow commentator John Fitzgerald outlined the specific tensions Nadal’s racquets have as well as his mentioning his meticulousness on court.
“Goodness me, that's a big mistake and he knows. He knows the tension, he knows the sequence he wants to use the racquets in," he said. "You don't often get a first in a Rafa match after all these years, but that is definitely the first that that would've happened,” Petsch added.
Nadal gave up the search for the racquet before taking a new one from his bag and continuing to play. All eyes were on the 36-year-old given his poor form coming into the first Grand Slam of the year which reads six losses in his last seven matches.
With a dangerous, young and improving opponent on the other side of the net, Nadal needed to raise his level. While it wasn’t a vintage performance, the 22-time Grand Slam champion progressed following a vital 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory. Nadal admitted nerves heading into the match after losing a string of games after returning from an ab injury.
“Of course, without a doubt," he said. “I have been losing more than usual, that's part of the business. Just accept the situation. I think I am humble enough to accept that situation and just work with what I have today. I need to build again all this momentum. I need to build again this confidence with myself with victories. But it's true that I have been losing more than usual.”
The top seed's win secured a meeting with American world number 65 Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. It was a spirited performance from Draper, who suffered cramping issues en route to his defeat. "Physically, I'll be first to say I'm still a work in progress," the 21-year-old said.
The British number three was plagued by cramp all over his body and suggested it was due to being "undercooked" after a disrupted pre-season. "First it was the legs and then towards the end I started feeling it my ab/rib. When that happens it is almost game over because it completely locks you up," he said.
"Playing professional tennis at this level is very gruelling so for a young player like myself it will take a lot of time to get it right. These are all valuable learning experiences for me and especially playing against someone like Rafa.
"I left it all out there. I tried my best, competed my hardest and proud of how I played. At times I felt I was in a good place to win the match."
