Rafael Nadal's earliest exit at any Grand Slam since bowing out in the first round in Melbourne in 2016, came in a sad fashion yesterday.
In pursuit of the record-extending 23rd Grand Slam, Nadal was hampered by an injury in the second-round match against 65th-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open. He pulled up at the end of a point late in the second set, was visited by a trainer on the sideline, and then left the court for a medical timeout. Nadal returned, but was not at his usual fiery best, and went down 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to McDonald.
Nadal was the defending champion and seeded No. 1 in Australia.
On Thursday, his manager said that he has injured his left hip flexor and could need about six to eight weeks to recover fully. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had an MRI exam at a hospital in Melbourne under his doctor's supervision on Thursday, which revealed a grade 2 injury in the Illiopsoas, the primary hip flexor.
The 36-year-old now will head home to Spain to rest.
"I mean, hopefully it's nothing too bad. In the end (it has) been three positive weeks in terms of practice," he told reporters after his defeat. "So, I really hope that (injury) doesn't put me out of the court for a long time, because then it's tough to make all the recovery again.
"It's not only the recovery. It's all the amount of work that you need to put together to come back at a decent level."
The 6-8 week recuperation would allow Nadal time to prepare for the defence of his French Open title in late May and early June.
Nadal has lost seven of his past nine matches, going back to a fourth-round defeat at the US Open in September. Over the past 12 months alone, he has been troubled by damaged rib cartilage and by chronic pain in his left foot that was dulled via nerve-numbing injections during his title run at the French Open. A torn abdominal muscle forced him to pull out of Wimbledon.
Nadal said later that his left hip was so bad on Wednesday, that he could not hit a backhand or run much at all. He considered quitting but played on because he was the reigning champion.
“It's a tough moment. It's a tough day,” he said. “I can't say that I am not destroyed mentally at this moment, because I would be lying.”
With Roger Federer and Serena Williams calling it a day already, it remains to be seen how long Nadal, who will turn 37 in a little over four months and fraught with wear and tear from his unrelenting style of play, decides to hang up the racquet.
