Rafael Nadal

Defending champion Rafael Nadal was far from his best as he produced an error-laden performance during his opening-round victory over Jack Draper at the ...

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) Draper’s former coach Justin Sherring told the Daily Telegraph: “We used to base a lot of our game development around Rafa.

It wasn't a vintage performance by Rafael Nadal, but the defending Australian Open champion began his pursuit of a 23rd Grand Slam with a four-set victory ...

"But unfortunately, that (is in the past), so we need to keep working.'' [Carlos Alcaraz](http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/players/profile?playerId=3782) is sidelined with an injury, is appearing in his 67th Grand Slam tournament. No doubt about that,'' said Nadal, who came back from a two-set deficit against Draper, ranked a career-best No. From there, though, Nadal would not drop another game, beginning his pursuit of a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam championship with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory that took more than 3½ hours in Rod Laver Arena. Nadal was not in peak form.

Rafael Nadal gave his thoughts on Jack Draper's performance after beating the Brit at the Australian Open.

“To win against Jack, as I said before the tournament start, have been one of the toughest first rounds possible being seeded. Looking at the match as a whole, Nadal admitted it was even sweeter to get a victory over such a tough opponent for his first match win of the season. “I mean, as I said before the tournament start, he's a great player with a lot of potential, young,” he continued. The most important thing today is a victory against a tough opponent,” he said after dropping a set to the 21-year-old. And he continued his praise of Draper after the match, getting defensive as he explained why he wasn’t impressed by the Sutton native’s performance in what was his Australian Open debut. It was the world No 2’s first victory of the year after suffering the worst start to a season in his career with two losses at the United Cup.

Rafael Nadal has explained to Eurosport's Barbara Schett exactly what happened when a ball kid took his racquet away to the stringer when he needed it.

"Winning against Jack [Draper], I needed to do things well, of course. "When you put everything into perspective, I had a very tricky opponent in the first round. he told Schett with a smile. It all amounted to some entertaining exchanges on Rod Laver Arena as he attempted to get it back. "I need to accept that, to stay with the right attitude, and it happened in the second [set, which Draper won] and it happened in the fourth at the beginning, but that’s part of the business now." Australian Open

Rafael Nadal had to dig deep on Monday at the Australian Open to claw through his first-round match against Jack Draper. But for the defending champion it ...

I am happy that I was able to win against a great player this afternoon.” “When you break the abdominal, you start to protect yourself, putting the ball more to the left, trying to not do the movement, the full movement, with the abdominal.” But I think he is in the right position to have a very productive season. I am in a moment that I am more up and down. “I think it's only cramping that happened at the end to him. “To win against Jack, as I said before the tournament started, has been one of the toughest first rounds possible being seeded. “I needed a victory, so that's the main thing. A great future in front, I think. “But to win against Jack, I need to do things well. I think I did things well. The most important thing today is a victory against a tough opponent,” Nadal said. A win was a win.

Midway through the first set against Britain's Jack Draper, the 22-time grand slam winner stood with his arms spread as explained to the umpire that he was ...

“The combination of lights.” “Unfortunately that passed, so we need to keep working. I need the dampener and everything,” added the Spaniard, referring to the small rubber device which tennis players place between the strings to lessen the impact when they hit shots. “I need the racquet back! “Normally, I have the number of the rackets under control so I said I need the stringer, but I need the stringer for the other racket,” Nadal explained, per Eurosport. After the match, Nadal described the racket snafu as a “funny situation.”

Rafael Nadal was involved in a bizarre incident at the start of his Australian Open clash with Jack Draper.

"So the other thing that I said to myself was ‘okay, I know that’s going to happen because I need victories to avoid that'. "Well, if you put into perspective how we arrived here with a lot of injuries in the last six months, then coming back it hasn’t been easy with losses on the road, I don't think it was a bad match at all," he said. But he was delighted at being able to put those issues behind him with a solid win to start the Australian Open. And he cleared up the situation, admitting that it was just a mix-up in communication. He was ultimately unable to recover enough to challenge Nadal any further with the Spaniard going on to win in four sets. But there was confusion on the court when, during the changeover and the score 4-3 in Nadal's favour, he went back to his chair to see something was missing.

Who won? Who lost? How did the Americans do? Find all that info and more right here.

Who won? Who lost? How did the Americans do? Find all that info and more right here.

The Spanish tennis player, who scored his first victory, said he was grateful to have Mery Perelló and his little Rafa by his side.

In a press conference after the match, Nadal reiterated what he feels in this new chapter of his life he shares with his wife. “I don’t know how I would feel if my baby was not here with me for a month. With this win, he advances to the second round of the tournament, in which he will face Mackenzie McDonald from the U.S. The topic of his new fatherhood quickly came up, and he responded willingly and with a big smile. He even shared the video of this interview, which the hosts of the Australian Open conducted. [Rafael Nadal](https://www.hola.com/us/tags/rafael-nadal/) is determined to flip the page and redeem the bad luck he had last year on a professional level.

Rafael Nadal advanced in the Australian Open over Britain's Jack Draper on Monday in Melbourne, but the victory wasn't precisely as designed.