Watch: Rafael Nadal loses his temper at chair umpire during Australian Open 2R clash
Rafael Nadal did not have the best of starts to his second-round clash against Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open on Wednesday, getting broken twice in the first set early on.
But more than his own performance, it was the placement of towels on Rod Laver Arena that made the Spaniard angry. During his changeover after going 1-4 down, Nadal erupted at the chair umpire, stating that the towels were too far away because of the huge dimensions of the show court.
In turn, that affected how long the 22-time Grand Slam champion had on the serve clock, which he pointed out always counted down before he could get through his service routine. The Mallorcan went on to throw shade at the umpire, claiming that she always did the same for his matches.
While not clearly audible, she had some retorts for the World No. 2, which did not change his mind either. The former World No. 1 went on to add that the issue with the towel might not seem like a big deal to her, but it was for him, shaking his head repeatedly to show his displeasure.
"Every time, I am in rush, even serving normal. Without the towel, every time, I see the clock at 5... 4..... With you it is always the same," Nadal said with disapproval. "It's okay. For you it doesn't matter. But I cannot take the towel every time. It is out there."
Rafa is NOT happy, grilling the umpire as he went down a double break 😡👀
🖥 #AusOpen LIVE | nine.social/AusOpen
#9WWOS #Tennis https://t.co/NgLvYcr9qj
Despite breaking the American back a few minutes later, the 36-year-old lost the first set 4-6. The second set, meanwhile, was 5-3 in favor of McDonald at the time of writing.
"I need to keep improving in all the aspects of my game" - Rafael Nadal after Australian Open 1R win
Rafael Nadal needed four sets to beat Jack Draper in the opening round of the 2023 Australian Open. Following the win, the Spaniard made it clear that he needed to "keep improving" in all facets of the game, stating that he was still in the process of getting his rhythm back after his recent abdominal injury.
"When you break the abdominal, you start to protect yourself, putting the ball more to the left, trying to not do the movement, the full movement, with the abdominal, no?" Nadal said in the post-match press conference. "Is something I needed to work hard to come back to the normal serve. I think I did it. I need to keep improving in all the aspects of my game."