Australian Open 2023: Rafael Nadal lost to Mackenzie McDonald

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Australian Open 2023: Rafael Nadal ‘mentally devastated’ after second-round exit Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: January 16-29 Coverage: Commentary every day from 07:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra ‘Tennis’ Breakfast’ live from Melbourne, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the BBC Sport website and app

Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open title defense came to an end after a second-round defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald as he suffered an injury.

The Spaniard, 36, was a set down and broke when he stopped with what appeared to be a groin problem.

He was given a medical time-out near the end of the second set and stayed on in the match, but eventually slipped to defeat 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

It is Nadal’s first exit at the Australian Open since 2016.

It was a brutal end for Nadal after his stunning 2022 victory, as he came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final in Melbourne and win his 14th French Open title in June.

However, a typically combative display in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon resulted in him suffering an abdominal injury that hampered him for the rest of the season.

He arrived in Melbourne having lost his only two matches of the season and was never quite at ease before appearing to shake his hip against McDonald.

Nadal’s wife was left in tears and his support team also looked emotional in the players’ box as the two-time champ struggled to move into Rod Laver Arena.

After watching the match to the end, he left the court to a standing ovation from the crowd, as top seed Nadal turned every corner before walking off the court.

Questions remain about Nadal’s future after the exit

Nadal, who is chasing his 23rd Grand Slam men’s singles title, has reached his first major tournament of the year having lost six of his past seven matches and with more questions about his future.

It is the latest in a long line of physical problems for Nadal, who admitted he had no feeling in his left foot during his Roland Garros win last year due to painkilling injections for the chronic injury.

He ignored calls from his support fund to retire from the Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz, somehow managing to win despite not being able to serve or move properly. After that, he withdrew from the tournament before his semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios.

An abdominal injury he sustained in SW19 then hampered him at the US Open, where he suffered a fourth-round exit against Frances Tiafoe and appeared to injure his rib.

He passed a tough first-round test in Melbourne against Britain’s Jack Draper, but it was against 65th-ranked MacDonald that his movement and speed showed.

Nadal was running wide to catch a forehand when he appeared to wiggle his left hip, immediately touching the area and going down his backside.

He made it through the remainder of the match and then left the court for a time-out for treatment, returning to see the second set.

Despite being unable to chase down any deep shots, Nadal somehow managed to hold serve until 5-5 in the third set before McDonald secured the inevitable break.

“Nadal was holding on” – Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller in Melbourne

There were times when Nadal pulled out of Grand Slam matches, but today he felt he could continue without further problems.

It barely moved, but it served very well, but once it broke it was over.

We have to say how well McDonald played. He definitely made a run in the early stages. Nadal was hanging on.

I don’t know if this is a pre-existing condition – we’ll find out more when he holds his press conference.

Auger-Aliassime fights back to reach the third round

Elsewhere on the third day, sixth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime battled back from two sets down to seal a 3-6 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Alex Mulkan.

The 22-year-old looked poised for an early exit in Melbourne as his error-filled game – including 25 unforced errors – allowed his Slovakian rivals to take control.

But after angrily complaining to the umpire about the state of the balls early in the third set, the world number seven managed to turn his fortunes around, wrapping up the match in just over three hours.

“It’s very simple, you have to put the ball in the court without missing,” said Auger Aliassime, who came from behind to win a set in five sets for the fifth time in his career.

“At the end of the day, it’s not rocket science. So I’ve just been trying to put another ball in the field and make it simple, make it work.”

The second round proved much easier for 15th seeded Italian Yannick Sinner as he defeated Thomas Echeverri 6-3 6-2 6-2, while American 16th seed Frances Tiafoe won in straight sets, easing 6-4 6-4. 6-1 victory over Zhang Junsheng of China.

Tiafoe will play 18th seed Karen Khachanov after the Russian beat Australian Jason Kubler 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2.

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