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MELBOURNE. — Defending champion Rafael Nadal shrugged off a rocky build-up to reach the Australian Open tennis tournament second round with a four-set win over ailing Jack Draper yesterday after home favourite Nick Kyrgios dropped a Day One bombshell by pulling out injured.
Top women’s seed Iga Swiatek also made heavy work of her opening match against a rising young talent before the Pole found her rhythm to beat German Jule Niemeier 6-4 7-5.
Spaniard Nadal came into Melbourne Park with only one victory since the US Open and was on the back foot against Draper on a warm and humid afternoon at Rod Laver Arena before cramping trouble struck the 21-year-old Briton. With Draper reduced to a groaning wreck, Nadal finished strongly to close out the match 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-1.
A year on from the “Miracle of Melbourne”, when Nadal came back from two sets down to topple Daniil Medvedev in a classic final, the Spaniard was happy to get through to his next match against American Mackenzie McDonald. “If we put it in the perspective of what I’ve been through in the last six months, it was a positive start,” the 36-year-old said.
“I played against one of the toughest opponents possible in the first round. He’s young, he has the power and I think he has a great future in front (of him).”
Nadal’s win will have been a relief for organisers, with one of the biggest draw cards in Kyrgios bowing out because of a knee problem on the eve of his opener.
Fears for Novak Djokovic amid reports he cancelled a second successive training session before his evening-session opener on a blazing hot Monday were eased after the nine-time champion stepped out for a late hit.
The Serb, who missed last year’s tournament after being deported from Australia over his lack of Covid-19 vaccination, has been nursing a hamstring strain. Kyrgios, runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon, revealed he had a torn meniscus and withdrew after practice with doubles partner Thanisi Kokkinakis.
“I’m devastated,” said the Australian. “I’m just exhausted from everything, and obviously (it’s) pretty brutal.”
The withdrawal also ended Kyrgios and Kokkinakis’s defence of the men’s doubles title, a year after the “Special K’s drew massive crowds through their unlikely championship run. — Reuters
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