He returned to court,patted a ballboy on the head and scooped up his racquet and towel to continue the match. But it was more an act of sporting grace than defiance;Nadal didn’t want to deny McDonald,a 27-year-old tennis journeyman hunting his first ATP title,his career moment.
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If the biggest story of the tournament wasn’t already written in the expression on tournament director Craig Tiley’s face as Nadal emerged from the medical rooms,you could see in the gloom that descended,like a January storm cloud in Melbourne,on Nadal’s courtside entourage. His wife Maria was in tears.
Nadal said the injury meant he couldn’t hit a backhand or run for the ball. “I considered all the time stopping,” he said. “I just wanted to finish the match,that’s it.
“I didn’t want to leave the court with a retirement. Better like this at the end.”
For the next hour or so,Nadal hobbled his way through the remaining tennis until,at about 5.30pm,McDonald found himself serving for the match against the holder of 22 major singles titles,more than any other man in the history of tennis.
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Will he be back at the Australian Open,where he has won two titles and written himself into legend with captivating finals against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic? He couldn’t say for sure whether he could overcome another setback.
“I really hope it doesn’t put me out of the court for a long time,because then it’s tough to make all the recovery again,” Nadal said.
“It’s not only the recovery,it’s all the amount of work you need to put in to come back at a decent level. So I went through this process too many times in my career,and I am ready to keep doing,I think,but that’s not easy.”
McDonald paid tribute to the Spaniard. “I mean he is an incredible champion,” the American said after Nadal gave a final,rueful wave to the crowd and disappeared into the tunnel. “He’s never going to give up regardless of the situation,it was hard to close out.”
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It was earlier in the match,just as Qantas flight QF144 was making its approach to Sydney,that the first mayday was issued from Melbourne Park. Only 20 minutes in,Nadal was down two breaks of serve and an already troubled tournament was fast losing altitude.
The match stats suggested that pilot error,or perhaps a hidden mechanical failure,were to blame. Nadal’s first serve was a little off and his normally metronomic forehand out of time. Uncharacteristically,most of the rally points ended with Nadal catching the net or hitting wide.
This doesn’t do justice to the quality of tennis played by McDonald,who found his service range early and showed a Nadal-like doggedness to keep the ball in play. McDonald was thrashed by Nadal when the pair met at Roland Garros but he said he fancied his chances on hardcourt – and he played like someone with a clear sense of what was needed.
Later in the match,as the impact of Nadal’s injury became clear,McDonald kept his concentration and nerves in check to do what was required to complete an unlikely progression through to the third round.
Although Nadal won last year’s French Open,it was with the benefit of two painkilling injections before every match to numb a chronic foot problem. An abdominal injury forced him out of his Wimbledon semi-final against Kyrgios and limited his preparations for the US Open and court appearances for the rest of the year.
For all that,Nadal still arrived here as the No.1 seeded men’s player,and a sporting figure who is as much a part of our summer as the Boxing Day sales.
Whatever happens over the remaining 11 days of this tournament,it won’t quite feel the same.
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