“I need my racquet back. I need the dampener, and everything. Nadal said, “The ball boy took my tennis racquet.”
After a ballboy apparently took the wrong racquet to the stringer, Rafael Nadal, the champion in the defense, was left without the racquet that he needed to use against Jack Draper of Britain.
"The ballboy took my racquet" ????
A definite first for Rafa!#AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/T4xqN4ZLBd
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2023
“I need my racquet back. I need the dampener, and everything. Nadal said that the ball boy had taken my racquet, and the score was 4-3 in his favor.
The 22-time major winner won the first set 7-5 despite the loss of a racquet. Drapper won the second set by 6-2. Nadal won the 3rd set by 6-4 to lead by 2-1.
Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam trophy with an incredible comeback. He beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4. After dropping the first two sets, it was the first time that a man had won the Australian Open final in 57 years.
Nadal holds 22 Grand Slam singles titles. This is a record for men, one more than Federer, two more over Djokovic and one less than Williams’ overall Open era mark.