Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Australian Open in three sets by the American Mackenzie McDonald. The Spaniard had a hip injury in the middle of the second set and despite the fact that he fought with everything, pain included, he could not save the second round match of the ‘Aussie’ Grand Slam in which he defended the title. The winner of 22 grands also had verbal problems with the chair umpire.
“The towel is there and I always see the clock that goes 5, 4, 3… With you it’s always the same… It doesn’t matter,” said the 36-year-old Spaniard showing his disagreement during the first set referring to the little margin of time he had to get the towel before serving, considering that they were too far from the service zone. In the second set, Nadal repeated the same discussion with the chair umpire again. Later, after the defeat, he greeted him politely and left with a tremendous ovation from the Rod Laver grade.
