- Rafael Nadal loses to McDonald in second round of Australian Open.
- He hit 42 winners compared to just 22 unforced errors.
- McDonald will face winner of match between Yoshihito and Svrcina.
Rafael Nadal, the current men’s singles champion, lost in the second round of the Australian Open. The 22-time Grand Slam champion struggled with an injury as she fell to American Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets on Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena.
When Nadal sought a medical break, he had moved to his left to pursue a forehand and pulled up in pain with what appeared to be an upper left leg injury. At that point, he was down 4-6, 3-5.
The 36-year-old Spaniard came back to finish the match, but it was obvious that he wasn’t physically up to par. McDonald won 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 32 minutes.
The World No. 65 did not avoid Nadal’s forehand, and the Spaniard struggled to regularly put him on the back foot. The American recorded his highest career victory by hitting 42 winners compared to just 22 unforced errors.
“I’m really happy with how I started that match. I thought I was playing really well, serving great, returning well too. I was really taking it to him,” McDonald said after the match.
“It was actually pretty tough to stay mentally engaged a little bit there, but I found a way to just pull it out, so I’m happy.”
“He’s an incredible champion. He’s never going to give up, regardless of the situation. Closing it out against a top guy like that is always tough.”
McDonald will face the winner of Wednesday’s match between Japanese 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka and Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in the third round on Friday.
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