Meeting Rafael Nadal has made her life, says Harriet Dart after United Cup encounter
Harriet Dart of Great Britain has expressed her joy at meeting Rafael Nadal during the league stages of the United Cup 2023 in Sydney.
Spain, Great Britain and Australia were drawn into Group D for the inaugural edition of the mixed-team tournament, which replaced the ATP Cup to act as a warm-up event before the Australian Open. Tim Henman's Great Britain beat Spain 4-1 and Australia 3-2 to qualify for the City Finals, where they ultimately lost against Team USA 4-1.
The World No. 98 recently took to social media to share her happiness at the opportunity to meet legendary Spanish player Rafael Nadal when the two teams clashed on December 31 and January 1 at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena. She posted a photograph of the 22-time Grand Slam champion giving her a high-five on the court on Day 3 when he faced Cameron Norrie.
"Life made," Dart wrote along with an overjoyed emoji.
Nadal had a forgettable start to his 2023 season as he lost both his singles matches against Great Britain's Cameron Norrie and Australia's Alex de Minaur. This is the first time in his career that the Spaniard has lost the first two matches of a season. Last year, he recorded his personal best start to a season, where he won 20 matches in a row. It's also the first time that he has lost two consecutive matches after winning the first set in both. He will begin his title defense in Melbourne on January 16.
Dart, on the other hand, had a decent outing during the group matches. She beat World No. 179 Maddison Inglis of Australia in straight sets before losing her doubles encounter alongside Jonny O'Mara. The 26-year-old was then defeated 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-1 by World No. 13 Paula Badosa. However, she won the doubles tie against Spain. Dart lost both her singles and doubles clashes comprehensively in the City Finals against the USA.
Rafael Nadal begins practice in Melbourne
After a poor start to the new season, Rafael Nadal has decided not to waste any time and hit the courts in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open 2023. He was present at Melbourne Park on Thursday and practiced with World No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Spaniard was the winner in 2022, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in one of the most enthralling Grand Slam finals. However, the last six months have been subpar for the second-ranked player. Despite losing two matches in the United Cup, the 36-year-old is "not too alarmed."
“I need battles like this. I didn’t play much official matches the last six months, almost seven. Days like these two help. Of course, with victories, the process is faster, but I need to keep fighting. I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts. I can’t say the situation is ideal but I can’t say it’s negative because for moments, I was playing good. The level wasn’t that bad. I’m not too alarmed, too negative about what happened," he said.
Defending champ @RafaelNadal has arrived in Melbourne to begin his #AusOpen prep! https://t.co/NLNktKL5lO