Rafael Nadal entered the Australian Open as a favorite, considering he was the defending champion. He has now been knocked out by Mackenzie McDonald after losing all three sets with the final tally of 6-4, 6-4, and 7-5. This happens to be the worst record for Nadal in the last 7 years.
Rod Laver Arena witnessed the defending champion struggle with a hip injury that he sustained while going for the backhand against the American tennis star. Nadal took some time off the court for medication but returned only with an uncomfortable expression on his face. He had the support of his fans, undoubtedly; however, the spirit could not change the direction of the tides.
McDonald took the advantage to complete the game in his favor with no direct fightback from the opponent.
Novak Djokovic is still in the race for the title. Now that Nadal has been knocked out, Noval is starting to reach the first spot. All tennis enthusiasts are keeping a close watch on the top tennis betting sites to get all the supposed exciting updates about the Australian Open series of tennis matches. Lights were shining more on Novak than on the French tennis star, who was only able to win one set with a minor margin of 7-5. The first, second, and fourth sets were dominated by Djokovic to put up a total of 6-1, 6-2, and 6-0 in his favor.
As for Nadal versus McDonald, Nadal could only win 62% of his first serves against 68% by McDonald. The win percentage on the second serve is also higher for McDonald too, reflecting 67% over 51% for the injured Nadal. A total of 19 games went in favor of the American champ, who has qualified for the next round. Nadal got knocked out for securing wins only in 13 games, bringing 90 points to his name.
McDonald, while calling Nadal an incredible champion, has said that closing a match like this is tough against a top guy like him who never gives up regardless of the situation. McDonald had further said that he was trying to focus on his game even at a time when Nadal was able to bring him out of that concentrated mindset.
Both faced each other previously at the French Open in 2020, where Nadal emerged victorious. He kicked my butt and joked about the winner of the current Australian Open event to describe what happened when he went against Nadal at the French Open 2 years ago.
Meanwhile, Kokkinakis and Murray are battling it out at Margaret Court Arena, with Kokkinakis leading the charge with one set to his name for 6-4. The second set has a 1-1 tie at the moment.
McDonald will next play with Yoshihito Nishioka, who comes from two consecutive victories against Svrcina and Ymer.
