Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s time-consuming antics are well known in the tennis world and John McEnroe has become the latest one to call him out
Rafael Nadal responded to an accusation from John McEnroe, who suggested in commentary that the Spaniard gets preferential treatment from the tour umpires. When told of the comment by a journalist at the post-match press conference, Nadal was less than impressed. It is not the first time Nadal has been accused of being given preferential treatment, with Denis Shapovalov saying similar after his defeat by the Spaniard in their Australian Open quarter-final.
Responding to a journalist’s question in a press conference, Nadal termed McEnroe’s statement, ‘a joke’. “I went through a lot of warnings in my tennis career. Never for breaking the racquet but yes for the time clock. I have a problem, that I am sweating a lot, and when you are playing a game during these very humid conditions, we have the biggest problem today. We don’t have the ballboys bringing the towel to you, so you have to go to the farthest place on the court”, the Spaniard added.
Four-time champion Nadal overcame dropping the first set to defeat the Australian wildcard 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. The 36-year-old Spaniard, who is chasing a 23rd Grand Slam title and third of 2022, next faces Fabio Fognini. Nadal is the second seed in the tournament and one of the favourites for the title.
World number three Nadal came into this year’s US Open tournament under an injury cloud after an abdominal strain had forced him to forfeit his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios. Before Tuesday, he had played just once, a first-up loss to Borna Coric in Cincinnati and he looked rusty at the start on Tuesday. Hijikata, making his Grand Slam debut, surprisingly won the opening set but Nadal came back strong to win the next three and claim victory.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and update