Decreased by a sore hip, defending champion Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday in Melbourne, where world number 1 Iga Swiatek quietly qualified, on another disrupted day. by the rain.
Nadal exits
“I couldn’t hit backhand or run, but I wanted to finish the game. As the defending champion, I didn’t want to give up,” Rafael Nadal said minutes after limping off Rod Laver, beaten by American Mackenzie McDonald (65th) 6-4, 6-4, 7- 5.
Injured in the left hip since the end of the second set, the 36-year-old Spaniard only postponed an inevitable outcome as best he could, before confessing, in a very unusual fit of discouragement: “I am mentally destroyed” .
He tried not to show anything, but those close to him knew: when he went out, 3-5 in the second set, to have his hip manipulated, his wife shed a few tears and his coach Carlos Moya was clearly disillusioned .
The man with 22 Grand Slam titles gritted his teeth until the end, trying everything for almost every shot in order to shorten the exchanges. But there was no miracle.
“He’s an incredible champion, who never gives up and even in these conditions he’s hard to beat,” commented McDonald.
Serenity
Swiatek for the women and Jannik Sinner for the men quickly and calmly validated their ticket for the third round.
The Pole authoritatively dismissed the Colombian Camilla Osorio (84th) 6-2, 6-3.
“It was much harder than the score suggests”, however underlined the world N.1.
“She didn’t give me a lot of points, I really had to take the initiative and go for the victory,” added the 21-year-old, semi-finalist in Melbourne last year.
Swiatek will face the Canadian Bianca Andreescu (43rd), winner of the US Open 2019, or the Spaniard from the qualifications Cristina Bucsa (100th) on Friday.
For his part, Sinner (16th) did not experience the slightest difficulty against the Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry (79th), beaten 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
In the next round, the 21-year-old Italian will face the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics (78th) or the South African Lloyd Harris (186th).
Last year, he established himself among the best, notably reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
jostled
Between the experienced Maria Sakkari (6th) – semi-finalist at Roland-Garros and the US Open, 8th finalist in Melbourne in 2022 – and the young Russian Diana Shnaider (106th), who played her first main draw at 18 of a Grand Slam tournament, the match seemed unbalanced.
But the 27-year-old Greek was surprised by the aggressiveness of an opponent she discovered and took 2 hours and 33 minutes to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
“She forced me to defend a lot, which is not my game,” said Sakkari, believing that the two players had “played at a very high level”.
Moreover, despite the defeat, the young Russian, who is studying in the United States at the University of North Carolina, came out to the ovations of the Margaret Court Arena, enough to draw a broad smile on her face.
For her part, Sakkari will continue her journey on Friday against the Swiss Jil Teichmann (33rd) or the Chinese Lin Zhu (87th).
Even more difficult was the qualification of Félix Auger-Aliassime who had to go back two sets to beat the Slovak Alex Molcan (53rd) 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The 21-year-old Canadian, who started 2022 by delivering a memorable five-set showdown with Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, will face Frenchman Corentin Moutet (62nd) or Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (29th) to try to climb in the round of 16.
Youth
In the clash between young Coco Gauff (7th at 18) and Emma Raducanu (77th at 20), the American, finalist at the last Roland-Garros, dominated the Briton, winner of the US Open 2021, 6- 3, 7-6 (7/4).