MELBOURNE. – Defending champion Rafa Nadal dropped a set but prevailed in a battle of fitness against Jack Draper to reach the second round of the Australian Open on Monday with an unconvincing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over the injured Briton.
Fellow lefthander Draper played superb tennis to level the match at a set all, but the 21-year-old soon developed leg troubles and was left groaning in pain as Nadal closed out the match on a warm and sunny afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal was broken in the first game of the final set when Draper punished a dubious attempted drop-shot with a winner, but the Spaniard won the next six games in succession to claim the match as the ailing Briton bowed out swinging.
Nadal, bidding for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title, will next face Mackenzie McDonald for a place in the third round.
In women’s play, Emma Raducanu wasted little time in reaching the second round, dismissing Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-2 to set up a showdown with French Open runner-up Coco Gauff.
Victoria Azarenka confessed to some nerves before coming through a tough first-round battle against Sofia Kenin 6-4, 7-6(3) to ensure she would be the only former Australian Open champion remaining in the women’s draw.
The 33-year-old Belarusian, champion in 2012 and 2013, said she had been concerned at playing Kenin even if the American had suffered an appalling run of injuries since she won her first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park in 2020.
“She’s an amazing champion, I know she’s had some injuries, but she has the experience and I knew it was going to be a tough match,” the 24th seed said after the two-hour struggle. — Reuters
