Rafael Nadal suffered a second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald after struggling with an injury in the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old Spaniard‘s Australian Open title defence is over after trailing by a set and a break when he pulled up with what appeared to be a hip problem. He took a medical timeout towards the end of the second set before deciding to continue with the match which ended in a 6-4 6-3 7-5 defeat to his American opponent.
This loss means Nadal, who came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final in Melbourne and won a record-extending 14th French Open crown in June, has now suffered his earliest exit at the Australian Open since 2016.
He arrived in Melbourne having lost his only two singles matches of the season and never looked fully comfortable before he seemed to jar his hip against McDonald.
Nadal’s wife was left in tears and his support team also looked emotional in the player box as the two-time champion struggled to move on at the Rod Laver Arena.
After seeing the match through to the end he left to a standing ovation from the crowd, with Nadal turning to wave to each corner before exiting the stadium.