Australian Open 2023: The End of a Painful Journey for Rafael Nadal

Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal. (Photo: Twitter/@AustralianOpen)

JAKARTA - The Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal, has had bad luck. The defending Australian Open champion was knocked out in the early rounds.

Nadal lost to MacKenzie McDonald in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, Wednesday, 18 January. He lost in three sets with a score of 4-6, 4-6, 5-7.

In this match, Nadal appeared to have injured his left hip when he was about to do a backhand in the second set. He then required treatment and had to take a medical time out when trailing 4-6, 3-5.

Bearing the pain, he returned to continue the game. However, the injury had a big impact on Nadal, especially when doing the backhand.

McDonald also maximized the situation that was in his favor to secure victory in the match which lasted for a total of two hours and 32 minutes.

"It's been tough to get involved mentally with this, but I found a way to let myself out," McDonald said as quoted by Antara via AFP.

"He is an extraordinary champion. He never gives up no matter what. I was trying to stay focused on what I was trying to do, and he kind of lost rhythm a bit, and I took advantage of that," he added.

Mission accomplished for @mackiemacster 🇺🇸

The impressive American has beaten Nadal 6-4 6-4 7-5. @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/fkaTpk11te

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2023

With this defeat, Nadal's ambition to win his third title at Melbourne Park vanished. The defeat also marked Nadal's earliest exit from the Australian Open since 2016.

It was the end of a painful journey for Nadal, especially after his outstanding 2022. In last year's Australian Open final, Nadal came back from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev to seal the title, and then clinched his 14th French Open title in June.

But a grueling and grueling fight in the Wimbledon quarter-finals left him with an abdominal injury, which plagued him for the remainder of last season.

Meanwhile, world number 65 McDonald will meet the winner of the match between Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka and Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in a third-round match to be played on Friday, January 20.