Bizarre moment Rafael Nadal is forced to stop play at Australian Open as ball boy swipes his racquet
>
Bizarre moment Rafael Nadal is forced to stop playing when a ball boy slips his racket, as the Grand Slam legend laughs at the “serious mistake” before suddenly losing a set.
- Nadal is famous for being meticulous and superstitious during tennis matches.
- He became distraught in his first round Australian Open match after the first set.
- Play was halted while Nadal searched for his tennis racket that had been taken from him.
- Finally he kept playing
He may be a seasoned veteran who has won more Grand Slams than any other man in history, but Spaniard Rafael Nadal still managed to deliver something new at the Australian Open on Monday.
Playing his first round match against the dangerous 21-year-old Jack Draper from the UK, Nadal fought back to win a difficult first set.
But it was during the break between sets that things got interesting.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner and reigning Australian Open champion was clearly agitated and stopped play while searching for something.
As his curious opponent remained on his feet, it became clear that one of the ball boys had stolen the racket he was still using.
Nadal is famous for being superstitious and needs everything in the right order, including his tennis rackets.
“The ball boy, the ball boy take my racket,” Nadal said nervously to his opponent.
“They’ve taken away the racket he’s using right now, which he wants,” commentator Mark Petsche laughed.
‘I hope they haven’t cut his strings.’
However, commentator John Fitzgerald saw the serious side of this. Nadal is well known for his particular gestures during tennis matches, including tidying up his water bottles, and tennis rackets.
My God, that’s a big mistake and he knows it. He knows the tension, he knows the sequence in which he wants to use the rackets.’
“You’re not usually the first in a Rafa match after all these years, but it’s definitely the first thing that happens,” Petsch added.
As his search became more and more frantic, Nadal realized that the ball boy had taken his racket during the break between sets.
As play continued to be suspended, Fitzgerald began to wonder if the ball boy had walked off the premises with his new prized possession.
‘It’s also worth a bit, that racket, I may never see that again,’ he said with a smile.
‘That could be on the streets of Melbourne somewhere.
I’m sure you’ll get it back, but you’ve had to take a sequence one here, haven’t you?
Eventually, Nadal relented and reached for the next racket from his equipment bag, completely interrupting his famously meticulous approach to everything in a tennis match.
Nadal reacts after a point against Britain’s Jack Draper during their men’s singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the interruption may have played on his mind as Draper stormed into the second set 6-2.
Nadal had admitted to pre-match nerves after missing a series of games in the run-up to his return from injury.
“Of course, without a doubt,” he said.
I’ve been losing more than usual, that’s part of the business. Just accept the situation. I think I’m humble enough to accept that situation and just work with what I have today.
‘I need to build all this momentum again. I need to build this confidence in myself again with victories. But it is true that I have been losing more than usual.