Australian Open: Nadal overcomes young Draper in a demanding match

He won 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and 6-1 in his tournament debut. It is his first victory of the year, second in the last eight games. Play Makenzie McDonald in the next round

Demanded by one of the players with ways to look out on the balcony of the good guys, Rafael Nadal pulled off his first match at the Australian Open, winning 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and 6-1, in three hours and 42 minutes. Jack Draper responded to the good cache with which he arrived at the tournament, displaying all his qualities. The victory, the first of 2023, has considerable value for the defending champion, who had lost six of their last seven matches and he needed to gain confidence in the attempt to win this open for the third time and achieve his twenty-third great. This Wednesday he will meet in the second round with the American Makenzie McDonald, 63.

There were logical doubts about the Spanish. Not surprisingly, since he lost to Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16 of the last US Open, he only had one official victory, the one achieved against Casper Ruud in the group stage of the ATP Finals, when he was already virtually eliminated.

Draper kept it up for much of the first set. It was in his resolution that the Briton seemed to begin to feel what it means to play in a Grand Slam against the man who has triumphed the most in these tournaments. Already with 5-5 and deuce the rest, the longest distance covered in front of the Spanish service, made two mistakes. Then, he lost efficiency with a serve with which he had been comfortably solving the games, except for a break option from the Spaniard with 4-3 in favor, and saw how the Spaniard made the most of his first set ball.

Weakness with the second serve

The second set was marked by the difficulties of the defending champion to win points with the second service. He went from scoring 88% to staying at 40%. Draper hit it all. And all right. He got two consecutive breaks and even had ball from 5-0, before balancing the score by winning 6-2. As happened against Novak Djokovic in the first round of Wimbledon 2021, the Briton already had a set, this time in his debut in Melbourne. The two brief interruptions due to the rain did not affect him at all.

At 21, Draper performs with remarkable self-confidence. He is quick to move for his 1.91 and he hardly has any holes in his game. He hits well from both sides and shows off his service skills. Quarterfinalist in Montreal last year, after leaving behind, among others, Stefanos Tsitsipas, he reached the semifinals at the NextGen ATP Finals and has just finished among the top four at the recent ATP 250 event in Adelaide.

Attended on both legs by muscular problems in the third set, Sutton’s man kept his bet and did not back off after delivering his service early. Nadal needed to continue with the success in the parallel right and break again in the tenth game after the equalizer at four. Despite starting the fourth set with a break, the Briton could not resist the physical challenge and suffered again from his ailments. He is free for the Mallorcan after a complicated debut.

“Last year was one of the most emotional tournaments of my career. I’ve been on the circuit for 19 seasons and I’m happy to return to the Rod Laver Arena with a victory that I really needed,” Nadal said at the foot of the track after the match. .