MM News

MELBOURNE: Defending champion Rafa Nadal shrugged off a rocky build-up to reach the Australian Open second round with a four-set win over ailing Jack Draper on Monday after home favorite Nick Kyrgios dropped a Day One bombshell by pulling out injured.

Spaniard Nadal came into Melbourne Park with only one victory since the U.S. Open and was on the back foot against Draper on a warm and humid afternoon at Rod Laver Arena before cramping trouble struck the 21-year-old Briton.

With Draper reduced to a groaning wreck, Nadal finished strongly to close out the match 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-1.

A year on from the “Miracle of Melbourne”, when Nadal came back from two sets down to topple Daniil Medvedev in a classic final, the Spaniard was just happy to get through to his next match against American Mackenzie McDonald.

“If we put it in the perspective of what I’ve been through in the last six months, it was a positive start,” the 36-year-old said on court.

“I played against one of the toughest opponents possible in the first round. He’s young, he has the power and I think he has a great future in front (of him).”

Nadal’s win will have been a relief for organizers, with one of the biggest drawcards in Kyrgios bowing out because of a knee problem on the eve of his opener.

But there were also fears for Novak Djokovic amid reports the nine-times champion had cancelled a second successive training session ahead of his opener on Tuesday.

The Serbian great, who missed last year’s tournament after being deported from Australia over his lack of COVID-19 vaccination, has been nursing a hamstring strain.

Kyrgios, runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon, revealed he had a torn meniscus and pulled out after hitting practice with doubles partner Thanisi Kokkinakis.

“I’m devastated, obviously,” said the Australian.

“I’m just exhausted from everything, and obviously (it’s) pretty brutal.”

The withdrawal also ends Kyrgios and Kokkinakis’s defence of the men’s doubles title, a year after the “Special K’s” drew massive crowds through their unlikely championship run.

With Kyrgios gone and last year’s women’s champion Ash Barty retired, the chances of another home winner for local fans are greatly diminished.

However, U.S. fans were encouraged after seeing Jessica Pegula, seeded third behind Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, needing less than an hour to beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-0 6-1.

Seventh seed Coco Gauff also raced into the second round, while last year’s finalist Danielle Collins advanced with a tougher, three-set win over Anna Kalinskaya.

Pegula, who helped the United States win the inaugural United Cup, simply overpowered her Romanian opponent, and there were loud cheers from the Margaret Court Arena crowd when Cristian held serve in the second set to avoid the dreaded ‘double bagel’.

“Definitely first matches are always really tough, especially at a slam, there’s so much hype and anxious nerves leading up. So I’m glad it just went very smooth,” said Pegula.