Defending champion Rafael Nadal dismissed any doubts about his form and fitness as he made a winning start on his return to the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open.
One year on from the scene of the ‘Miracle of Melbourne’, the Spaniard saw off the strong challenge of Britain's Jack Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The win is Nadal's first of the year after losing his first two matches at the season-opening United Cup as well as six of his last seven but the 36-year-old will now face American MacKenzie McDonald in the next round.
Nadal started the match like a man with a point to prove, notching up 3 forehand winners in the opening few games as both players stayed strong on serve.
By the fifth game, Draper looked to have settled into the match, forcing the 22-time Grand Slam champion to produce his world class best in order to win each point and hold his serve.
It was a high quality start by both players and there wasn’t a break point in sight in the first seven games of the match.
But Nadal forced a look in game eight after Draper had netted at 30 all, only for the Brit to chip a serve into Nadal’s forehand the surprised Spaniard could only put wide.
Just as the first set looked destined to be decided by a tiebreak, Nadal, having been around the block and then some, smelled blood, unleashing three thunderous forehand winners against the Draper serve and taking the set on his first set point in just under an hour.
It was undoubtedly a blistering set of tennis by the 2022 champ, finishing it with 12 winners. But Draper isn’t being talked about as a future Grand Slam champion for nothing, and hit back immediately, breaking the Nadal serve in the first game of the second set.
A brief delay for fear of a downpour didn’t do anything to dampen the Draper spirit and he bagged a double break with a backhand winner that kissed the far corner of the line to go 3-0 with the ball in hand.
Nadal hasn’t been bageled since the US Open in 2018 against Dominic Thiem, but he was in danger of it happening here when he faced another Draper break point at 4-0 down, but he showed his resolve to make sure he got on the second set score board.
But Draper, who took a set from Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, wasn’t to be denied his moment and served out to level up the match at one set all.
Nadal though was out in set three like a man reborn, with the winners returning alongside the roar that has been accompanied so may shots over the years.
Draper was looking jaded and began complaining of cramps in his right leg shortly before the fourth game and Nadal duly took advantage, breaking for the first time since the end of the first on the fourth break point.
After treatment, Draper looked to be taking the ball earlier and showed his elder opponent he wasn't going anywhere with a rasping cross-court winner as he held serve to make it 2-4.
And the young Englishman stunnded Nadal, the fans and probably his coaching team when he broke Nadal’s serve to get into the set before more treatment of the troublesome thigh problem.
Nadal had lost a bit of quality from the start of the match and made 15 unforced errors across the third set. But, with Draper bothered by his legs, did enough to break again when it mattered and head into a 2-1 set lead after nearly three hours.
The big question was how much did Draper have left and the answer appeared to be lots as he broke the Nadal serve early in the fourth, just as he had in set two.
Moving better, Draper was determined to take the match into a decider but there is no player in history more determined than Nadal and he broke back straight away.
Draper has many Australian Opens in his future but we don’t yet know how many more times we will see Nadal here and as the fourth set went on, it was clear that Draper was out of legs and out of ideas as Nadal broke two more times to seal his most comfortable set and the match.
It wasn’t his greatest win, but Nadal will just be glad to have come through mostly unscathed as he looks to play his way into form and into contention for yet another major title.
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