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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Injured champion Nadal crashes out of Australian Open

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Defending champion Rafa Nadal crashed out of the Australian Open second round on Wednesday after aggravating a hip problem during his 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald, the Spaniard’s latest entry in an injury-blighted history at Melbourne Park.

Nadal’s elimination shakes up the men’s draw and puts a twist in the Grand Slam titles race, with nine-times champion Novak Djokovic able to draw level with the Spaniard’s 22 major championships should he take a 10th crown at Melbourne Park.

Nadal tweaked his left hip while running for a backhand in the second set at Rod Laver Arena, and after inspection from a trainer when trailing 6-4 5-3, he went off-court for a medical time-out.

He returned grim-faced to play out the match but his movement was clearly affected, particularly on his backhand side, paving the way for McDonald to end the Spaniard’s bid for a third title at Melbourne Park.

Nadal said the hip had bothered him for a couple of days but nowhere near to the extent of Wednesday’s match.

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“I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s (the) joint,” he told reporters.

“I have a history (of) hip issues. I had to do

treatments in the past, address it a little. (It) was not this

amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move.”

In the 2018 Australian Open, Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set from his quarter-final against Marin Cilic while trailing 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-0 because of a hip injury.

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Nadal said the hip had bothered him for a couple of days but nowhere near to the extent of Wednesday’s match.

“I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s (the) joint,” he told reporters.

“I have a history (of) hip issues. I had to do

treatments in the past, address it a little. (It) was not this

amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move.”

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In the 2018 Australian Open, Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set from his quarter-final against Marin Cilic while trailing 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-0 because of a hip injury.

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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