Maria Francisca Perello during Rafael Nadal’s match at the Australian Open 2023© Twitter
It was a tough outing for defending champion Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open 2023 on Wednesday as he succumbed to a stunning loss against World No 65 Mackenzie Macdonald. Nadal struggled with an apparent leg or back injury for the latter half of the match and even though it looked like he was going to retire at one point, the 22-time Grand Slam winner continued to fight. However, it was not enough as he was beaten 4-6. 4-5. 5-7. When a visibly uncomfortable Nadal was forced to go off-court in order to tend to his injuries, his wife Maria Francisca Perello broke into tears.
Things we never wish to see 💔
It’s all tears in the stadium as @RafaelNadal struggles with his fitness 😕#SonySportsNetwork #SlamOfTheGreats #RafaelNadal #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/TNSKataWjz
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) January 18, 2023
Nadal did not look in control during the beginning against a determined Macdonald as he struggled to score points on his first serve. Within the first set, he amassed several unforced errors, and he kept losing service games at crucial junctures to lose the first two sets. With the injury getting worse, he did show some fight in the third set of the game, but it was already too late for him.
Macdonald hailed the defending Australian Open winner in the post-match interview as he called Nadal an “incredible champion”. The 27-year-old said that Nadal refused to give up even after the injury and even reminisced about the last time when they two met – a game where he just won four games.
“He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation so even closing it out against a top guy like that is always tough,” Macdonald said during the on-court interview.
“I was trying to stay so focused on what I was doing and he kind of got me out of that with what he was doing. But I kind of just kept focusing on myself and got through,” he added after the encounter.
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