Men’s world number two Rafael Nadal has displayed his sportsmanship amid a tense moment during his shock three-set loss to Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie at the United Cup in Sydney.
Key points:
- Norrie defeated Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
- It was his first win over the Spaniard
- Nadal will defend his Australian Open crown at Melbourne Park
The scores were locked at 2-2 and 30-30 in the deciding set of Saturday’s match when Nadal admitted the ball had struck his body while playing a close-range shot that had made it over the net.
Nadal saved the ensuing break point, but world number 14 Norrie snared the break shortly after on his way to wrapping up a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in two hours and 45 minutes.
Great Britain took a 2-0 lead over Spain in the round-robin tie when Katie Swan defeated Nuria Párrizas Díaz 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The British team beat Australia 3-2 in their opening tie and will top their group with a win over Spain.
Nadal won the Australian and French Opens this year to take his career majors tally to 22, but foot, rib and abdomen issues meant he played just four events after Wimbledon.
The 36-year-old looked rusty at times against Norrie, with just over two weeks to regain his touch ahead of his Australian Open defence.
Norrie failed to win a set in his four previous encounters against Nadal and was thrilled to get the win.
“It was pretty crazy. I was thinking I’d never won a set before, so I wanted to come out and firstly do that,” Norrie told the Nine Network.
“It was a super physical match and I enjoyed it. It’s huge to get through that one. He beat me easy the last few times.
“I felt like I was finding really good depth on my shots.
“Tactically, I think it was a pretty good match and I served my way out of some trouble. It’s a great way to end 2022 for me.”
Although Nadal struggled with his first serves in the opening set, his overall class shone through during the key moments.
He unleashed a forehand winner to snare the crucial break in the sixth game and he saved a break point a short time later on the way to wrapping up the set in 52 minutes.
Norrie started the second set strongly and Nadal was in a hole at 0-40 down on serve in the sixth game.
Nadal saved four break points before a backhand mis-hit handed Norrie the break.
The Briton served out the set and he was well on his way to victory after securing the break in the fifth game of the third set.
Nadal created a break-point chance in the eighth game but Norrie produced a forehand winner to close the door on the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, German Alexander Zverev was upset by Czech Republic’s Jiří Lehečka in their United Cup match.
Zverev returned to tournament play for the first time after ankle surgery and was humbled 6-4, 6-2 by world number 81 Lehečka in Sydney.
Marie Bouzková then gave the Czechs a 2-0 lead in the tie with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Jule Niemeier.
Men’s world number 12 Zverev’s previous tour-level appearance was against Nadal in a French Open semifinal in June.
Zverev rolled his right ankle in that match, tearing all three lateral ligaments in the process, before leaving the court in a wheelchair.
The 25-year-old had surgery and tried to return on several occasions in recent months but was forced to abort his plans each time.
Zverev was ranked number two in the world in June but his lack of matches was evident as he struggled with serve and movement against Lehečka.
AAP/ABC
Discussion about this post