Injured defending champion Rafael Nadal bows out of Australian Open in second round
A clearly hurting Rafael Nadal lost his second-round match at the Australian Open to Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday, abruptly ending his title defence and bid for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam trophy.
“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,” said McDonald, a 27-year-old American who won NCAA championships in singles and doubles for UCLA in 2016. “I kept focusing on myself in the end and got through.”
He is currently ranked No. 2 but was the top seed at Melbourne Park because No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is sitting out the Australian Open with a bad leg.He needed painkilling injections for his left foot on the way to winning the French Open last June, pulled out of Wimbledon last July before the semi-finals because of a torn abdominal muscle and also dealt with a problem with rib cartilage in 2022.
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