With the right hand, but also with a lot of effort, O Rafa Nadal in the Australian Open. The Spaniard needed 3 hours and 41 minutes to defeat 21-year-old British Jack Draper (No.40) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and advance to the second round for the 17th time in his career.
The 36-year-old, who is ranked second in the world, will meet in the second round Mackenzie McDonald (USA, No. 65), who eliminated Brandon Nakashima (USA, No. 49) 3-2 in sets.
The victory over Draper was the 1,068th for Nadal, who “caught” Ivan Lendl in third place on the relevant list. He is now ahead of only Roger Federer (1,251) and Jimmy Connors (1,275).
Nadal, who has won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2022, is on Stefanos Tsitsipas’ side of the board and could face him in the semi-finals, if – of course – they both make it that far.
First hurdle cleared??@RafaelNadal • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/u0ZC6254ZR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2023
Victory over Jack Draper and qualification to the 2nd round for Rafael Nadal, who reaches 7?7? career Australian Open wins ?????? #Highlights
???? #AustralianOpen | #AusOpen | #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/H3yAPoR8xJ
— Eurosport Greece (@EurosportGR) January 16, 2023
Follow News Bulletin 247 on Google News to be the first to learn the latest news .
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
