Melbourne – AFP
After Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was removed from Melbourne, the focus shifted to the competitions on the field, where Rafael Nadal made a strong start at the start of his career in the Australian Open.
Sixth-seeded Nadal started his career in the first Grand Slam with a strong victory on Monday, with an easy victory over American Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
The 35-year-old Spaniard needed an hour and 49 minutes to settle his ticket to the second round in this tournament, which lost its champion, world number one Djokovic, following he was deported Sunday from Melbourne, once morest the background of not receiving the anti-Coronavirus vaccine and his wrong behavior in the process of entering Australia before canceling his visa in two batches.
Nadal was satisfied with his performance in his first game at Melbourne Park, saying: “I’m improving. It’s hard to say where I’m at compared to my best level. You have to take it day by day and accept that things are not good all the time, while staying positive for Playing a good card.
Thirteen years have passed since the “Matador” won its only title in Melbourne in 2009, despite having subsequently reached the final four times.
The Spaniard prepared in the best possible way by winning the Melbourne Championship, in his first participation in an official tournament since early last August, before he was away from competitions for nearly five months due to injury.
Nadal hopes to take full advantage of Djokovic’s absence from the tournament, which he won the Serbian title nine times, in order to hold the record for the number of major titles he shares with the world’s number one and his Swiss rival, absent from the tournament, Roger Federer (20 titles).
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