Defending champion Rafael Nadal was stunned by world No. 65 Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the ongoing Australian Open.
The unseeded American defeated the legendary Spaniard 6-4, 6-4, and 7-5 in the early hours of Wednesday at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal’s title defense and quest for his 23rd Grand Slam came to an abrupt end as he struggled throughout with a left hip injury that he picked up early in the match.
The 36-year-old trailed by a set and a break when he pulled up with the injury. He later took a medical timeout at the end of the second set and decided to continue with the match, but was unable to unsettle the inspired McDonald.
The 27-year-old American won seven of his eight break points, had 46 receiving points, and had eight aces in what turned out to be a surprisingly easy game for him.
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The two-time Australian Open winner’s wife was visibly emotional and was left in tears as she and his supporting cast watched on from the player box as he struggled to move around on the hard surface.
After the game, the Spaniard revealed he had been battling with a problem in his hip prior to the game, but it only became worse during the game when he chased a strong forehand.
“It has been a couple of days like this, but nothing like today in that movement. We’re going to start talking about that now, but I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s joint,” he said.
“I have history in the hip. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little, but there was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move. I tried until the end. I don’t know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. But at the end, that’s it. I just tried. It was not possible.”
“In terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, that’s another one. I just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying,” the heartbroken Nadal added.
As a show of support, McDonald praised the relentless nature of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
He said: “He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation so even closing it out against a top guy like that is always tough.”
“I was trying to stay so focused on what I was doing and he kind of got me out of that with what he was doing. But I kind of just kept focusing on myself and got through. Last time I played him was at Chatrier, he kicked my butt,” said McDonald, who took only four games off Nadal in the second round of the French Open in 2020,” McDonald concluded.
The loss is Nadal’s earliest exit at the Australian Open since 2016, when he lost to fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco in a hard-fought encounter in the first round.
