His racket was stolen during the match, Nadal celebrates his progress to the second round

Rafael Nadal is known for his habits that have followed him throughout his career. But in the first round match of the Australian Open, something happened that the number one seed has never experienced before. Despite this, the legendary Spaniard managed to advance to the second round and stepped up to defend.

The defending Australian Open champion didn’t arrive in a good frame of mind. He had lost his last six of seven matches and many people were starting to slightly favour English talent Jack Draper (38th).

Moreover, the first set saw a situation Rafa is not used to. At 4-3 in the first set, the balls were changing and the Spaniard took a new racket out of his bag with which he was going to continue the game. The old one was to go immediately to the new racquet.

Only, the ball collector in charge made a mistake and took Nadal’s new racket. When the star Spaniard found out, he was very upset. He has a precise routine that helps him concentrate.

Immediately Rafa started complaining to the empire umpire, “I need it back, I have a damper on it and everything, ” lamented Nadal.

The umpire started to get a small ball server and Nadal apologized to Draper for the unexpected timeout. In vain, however, the two-time Australian Open champion demanded the stolen racket, having to find another in his bag.

But he managed to win the first set 7-5 even with that complication. He faltered in the second set, though, losing to the Briton 2-6. But then he took care of the match and defeated Draper, who was suffering from severe cramps at the end of the match, in four sets – 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Nadal’s results worsened after the birth of his first child. In addition, the tennis legend was plagued by injuries. “I also feel vulnerable. Anything can happen. Now it’s up to me to work hard and get on a roll during the tournament,” said the world number two

In the next round, the Spaniard will face American Mcdonald (65th), and in the third round he may face Dalibor Svrcina (219th) if he advances.

Source:: Sport.cz