Sports
‘Mentally devastated’: Rafael Nadal withdraws from Australian Open due to injury
No. The No.1 seed Nadal suffered a left hip injury and lost to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of Wednesday’s tournament 6-4 6-4 7-5.
Rafa Nadal, the defending champion, was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open second-round on Wednesday, after aggravating his hip injury during a 6-4 6-4 7-5 loss to Mackenzie McDonald. This is the latest in a long line of injuries for the Spaniard at Melbourne Park.
The men’s draw has been thrown into disarray by the elimination of Nadal. Novak Djokovic, who is nine times champion, can now draw level with Nadal on 22 major titles if he wins a 10th title in Australia.
Nadal injured his left hip running for a backhand during the second set of the Rod Laver Arena match. After a trainer inspected him, Nadal went off court for a medical break.
He returned to the court grim-faced, but his movement, especially on his backhand, was clearly affected. McDonald ended the Spaniard’s bid for a 3rd Australian Open title.
Nadal admitted that his hip had been bothering him for a few days, but not to the extent it was during the match on Wednesday.
He told reporters, “I don’t really know what is going on. I don’t even know if (it’s) a muscle or a joint.”
“I have hip problems in the past.” I had to treat it in the past. It was not a problem of this magnitude. “I feel like I can’t move.”
Nadal had to retire from his quarter-final match against Marin Cilic in the fifth game of the 2018 Australian Open due to a hip injury.
McDonald, a hard-hitting American, had won the first set before Nadal’s collapse on Wednesday. He went toe-to toe with the 36 year-old Mallorcan, and won most of the baseline battles.
McDonald wiped out any demons that remained from their previous meeting in 2020, when Nadal thrashed him in straight sets at the French Open.
“He is an incredible champion. He will never give up, no matter what the situation. So even closing out a top man like that can be tough,” said McDonald.
“I was trying so hard to stay focused on what I did and he got me out of it with what he did.”
Feisty Spaniard returned, but it wasn’t enough
Nadal was greeted with a loud ovation when he returned to the court following his time out. He also received more cheers for holding serve.
His gloomy face told the story. He refused to retrieve a dropped shot in the next match, shaking his head and looking at his entourage.
McDonald won the second set after Nadal smashed a forehand in the net and thudded the racket against his chair when the ends changed.
McDonald sprinted forward to flick the passing shot past him.
Nadal made a desperate last stand to save the match, but it was not to be a repeat of his “Miracle of Melbourne” last year when he beat Daniil Medidev after coming back from 2-0 down in the classic final.
Nadal has suffered more than his fair share of heartache in the first Grand Slam of the year, even though the 2022 final is likely to be one of his finest moments.
In 2010, he had to withdraw from the quarter-final match against Andy Murray, despite trailing 6-3 7-6 3-1. This was due to a serious knee injury which kept him out for a whole month.
He was hampered by a back injury during the final of 2014 against Stan Wawrinka. He lost that match in four sets.
Nadal said that he had considered retiring from the match against McDonald but wanted to finish it as a defending champion.
Even though he said he had nothing to complain about, the latest injury still hurt.
“Sometimes, you feel super tired when it comes to all these injuries,” he said.
“I can’t lie and say that I’m not mentally destroyed at this time.”
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“It doesn’t seem real to me. It’s amazing to have this trophy in my hands, I”m so excited. Smiling and incredulous stands Jasmine Paolini with the Cup in her hand savoring her triumph at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. First Italian player able to impose herself in the home tournament thanks to a two-set victory over the American Coco Gauff. “Congratulations to you Coco for this final, keep it up you and your team, good luck for the coming weeks”.
With the protocol over, room for thanks. And there’s for everyone: “A thank you to my team and my family, my friends who always support me, it’s thanks to them that we have this cup in our hands today. Thank you to those who organized this tournament, to Fitp who always support us, the volunteers, the referees, the ball catchers, the public who have been special, the doctors, Dr. Parra who always supports me, they are always with us, it is a behind-the-scenes job that really weighs a lot”.
And then it is just and still emotion. Overwhelming, that you cannot say or describe but only savor. Smiling, as always, without forgetting where you started from and the’last step that is still missing to make this edition of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia truly unforgettable: “I do not know what else to say, it is a dream to be here. I came as a child to watch this tournament and to think one day that I could lift this cup was not even in my dreams. Thank you for supporting President Mattarella, at the end of last year we went to the Quirinal and this time we managed to bring him to the Foro Italico. It has been a dream two weeks, it is not over yet, tomorrow we have the doubles, I am not forgetting, we have to stay focused and I hope you will come a little bit earlier to see the doubles final because we need you”.
Beforehand, however, it was Coco Gauff, beaten but not defeated, who paid tribute to her for her success: “I am happy to have made it to the final in Rome and I am happy for you Jas for your victory – began the former US Open champion – You are a wonderful person. It’s always tough to face you and I hope you can bring home the trophy tomorrow in doubles as well. I will bring home this cup and I know how much work we have done to get it. It will be for next time”.
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Charles Leclerc is furious after Imola qualifying: “The first thing to do is to apologize to the fans, it hurts the team as well. Such a level of performance is not acceptable and we have to react”.
“Aston Martin was smart with the tires. We can flip the tires, put the front tires in the back and the back tires in the front, but the car doesn’t go enough. I have been saying this for a while’there is no potential in the car”.
He was echoed by Lewis Hamilton: “I am devastated, we worked so hard for this my first race in Italy with Ferrari. The car was going, I thought we would be there. But we couldn’t pass and we have to analyze why everyone improved and we didn’t. I do not have an answer at the moment”.
“The setup wasn’t perfect, but we couldn’t go any faster than that. We mounted the new tire, but for some reason it didn’t go and had no life left in it. We struggle to use the tires, I in my lap I don”t think I did anything wrong.
Tags: charles leclerclewis hamilton
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Jasmine Paolini is the new queen of Rome. And if to sign the feat is a player who at the Foro Italico had never won more than one match then we are in the fairy tale range.
Jasmine Paolini won the trophy of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, becoming the first Italian player to inscribe her name in the tournament’s roll of honor, exactly forty years after Raffaella Reggi (but the 1985 edition was played in Taranto).
In the final, with President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in the stands,- the 29-year-old from Bagni di Lucca, No. 5 in the ranking and No. 6 in the seeding, defeated 6-4 6-2, in an hour and 29 minutes of play, the U.S. Coco Gauff, No. 3 WTA and fourth seed.
The U.S. was ahead 2-1 in the balance of direct confrontations with Jasmine, who, however, had won the very last one, played in the quarters on Stuttgart indoor clay last month.
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Jasmine Paolini daydreams but doesn’t forget doubles
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Jasmine Paolini in history, the queen of Rome is Italian
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