Rafael Nadal praises Jack Draper after hard-fought first-round win
While the scoreline looks very comfortable the match itself was anything but comfortable for Rafael Nadal who barely won the 3rd set.
With a decisive 6-2 victory in the second set, Draper evened the score at 1-1. In the third set, he recovered from a 1-4 deficit to extend the set. Nadal was pleased with his victory even though it came down to a few points in some crucial rallies.
He’s a great player with a lot of potential, young. A great future in front, I think. So [it] was a tough, tough match. Full respect for him. Wish him well for the future.
Draper needs to get tougher physically to handle matches like this. His fatigue issues have been rather known and he suffered a health scare in Miami when he collapsed in the heat last year. Nadal added that he hopes it was just cramping and nothing worse.
I think it's only cramping that happened at the end to him. Hopefully it’s nothing important. But I think he is in the right position to have a very productive season. I am happy that I was able to win against a great player this afternoon.
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