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Nadal 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 Draper* (* indicates server) Draper serves to stay at set. But with the score in his favor Nadal is forcing the issue. It works, too, as a hard drive by Nadal on the baseline catches Draper off balance. He sends it skyward to give up the point, then lands a long right hand to give Nadal a double whammy. But the champion volleyed wide to give us one and then sprayed another to draw us level. The next one, however, wins and suddenly it’s the breaking point. The crowd roars, but Draper saves set point with an ace up the middle, just his third of the match. Then he moves forward as Nadal gets behind the baseline. Draper hits a Nadal return for two and Nadal punishes him on the next one as a long rally ends with Nadal hitting a volley home. Another sharp volley from Rafa seals it. Match, break and third set for Rafael Nadal.
Christmas* 7-5, 2-6, 5-4 Draper (* indicates server) More Christmas mistakes. This time it’s a drive down the line that goes an inch wrong. He wins it again with a javelin service in the corner of the area. Nadal is hitting 62% of his first serves and winning 81%, while Draper is hitting 39% of his first serves and winning 73%. This statistic could be the difference in the long run. Nadal holds serve again here and will now look to up the ante to break Draper and steal that rare third set.
Christmas 7-5, 2-6, 4-4 Draper* (* indicates server) Suddenly Draper is back! Maybe it’s the cramps that are decreasing. Maybe it’s his rival’s infrequent error rate. Either way, it’s serving to level up and hit them back at plus-100mph. Nadal moves around a backhand to deliver a sweet forehand winner, but Draper beats him. However, that damn Draper shot undoes the good work. But he’s lucky. Nadal makes a drop of his own to give us 4-4.
Updated at 0630 GMT
Christmas* 7-5, 2-6, 4-3 Draper (* denotes server) Christmas Fist is back! This time it’s an ace that takes him out. So far Rafa has been conserving his energy, but it was a death blow worthy of celebration. But as he has been all day, Nadal follows the sublime with the ridiculous, scoring two goals in a row to give Draper a 15-30 lead. Then tilt the next width. A very strange game! Even Nadal is incredulous. He now has two break points late and saves one when Draper goes long. But Draper can also outlast opponents. When the next rally reaches double figures it is Nadal who loses his temper first. Error Christmas! Break Draper!
Nadal 7-5, 2-6, 4-2 Draper* (* indicates server) One trainer per leg for Jack Draper. As Nadal takes longer in the rallies, Draper’s younger hamstrings are straining. But he climbs for the sixth game of the third set and tries to get his service radar going. The two fight for a fabulous second point, each player off the rails and hitting balls into the court at safety angles. Draper’s power wins him the rally this time and Nadal’s rusty returns gift him the next two points and the match. Draper is pending. Do you have the energy to push back?
Christmas* 7-5, 2-6, 4-1 Draper (* indicates server) Now it’s Jack Draper in trouble! Both players have injury problems and pain management issues, but Rafael Nadal has managed it better so far and broke Draper in the fourth to regain control of the match. Nadal is back to his old ways, settling into long rallies and waiting for his less experienced opponent to make mistakes. It’s working Draper’s error rate is increasing and as the match reaches four hours and Nadal takes the match, he is now the defending champion.
Christmas 7-5, 2-6, 3-1 Draper *(* indicates server) Looks like Jack Draper is cramping from the waist down and neck up. Nadal has yet to return to his fist pump, but there is a steely look in his eye that will worry Draper and his camp. Key match here and after a rally each, Nadal unleashes a sublime drop shot to go 30-15 ahead. As Draper blows another shot into the stands, the Briton’s head drops and he signals for the coach to warm up. Both players are groaning with the effort of their groundstrokes now. Neither player looks 100% physically and it comes down to an arm wrestle. The mistakes are piling up on both sides of the court as every big shot is undone by a bad one. The game is held to a second two before Draper commits a double fault. He’s lost 8% power from his main weapon, but he’s finding some percentage where he can. At two, the two go head-to-head at the net with five volleys in six seconds before Nadal gets one out. But Draper again scores the following and double faults. To break.
Nadal* 7-5, 2-6, 2-1 Draper (* denotes server) Nadal hides a backhand volley! That looked awful. Rafa now has 27 unforced errors for the match and his problems are mounting as the 21-year-old Draper gradually dominates him. However, with two break points in his shot, the madness of youth strikes again. Draper lands an easy passing shot and then hits a cross-court forehand well away from the tram lines. These rookie mistakes will have you smelling like salt at Christmas. If there’s anyone who knows how to psychologically dismantle a rising youngster, it’s him. As if to seal that point, Nadal fires a winner down the line to take a 2-1 lead.
Nadal 7-5, 2-6, 1-1 Draper* (* denotes server) Superb point. Draper drilled the serve and Nadal returned it with interest. But the big Englishman went ahead and leaned into the next two and Nadal was soon on his heels. The veteran is running out of patience and seems to be adopting a flashy approach that was heavily criticized in his early games. There Nadal chased the points and tried to end them early rather than lingering and outplaying his opponent as is usually his way. It led to a far higher number of errors than usual and a string of messy losses to younger opponents. That pattern continues here as Draper makes his first service game with ease to level up in the third.
Nadal* 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 Draper (* indicates server) As this first-round match enters its third hour, the first few games of this third set become very important. With pep in his step, Gatorade in his gut and a little more air in his lungs, Nadal successfully serves the first to take the lead. How will Draper respond to the service?
Draper wins the second set
Nadal* 7-5, 2-6 Draper (* indicates server) This game depends on what comes next. Can Rafa Nadal find gas in the tank and enough old tricks to get back into this match? Or will the ponderous march of Father Time echo the footsteps of future star Jack Draper? Nadal appeared to be in dialogue with his coach at halftime. The instruction seemed to be to provide more “power through the core”. I’ve seen Nadal shirtless and his main work seems sufficient to me.
Updated at 0635 GMT
Nadal* 7-5, 2-5 Draper (* indicates server) Physically Nadal seems to be fading, but mentally we know he will fight until the end. The public knows it too. They provide rousing cheer for the two-time Australian Open winner as he erases the errors to reach 40-0. More than 70 percent of Nadal’s serves have gone down the tee in this match, but Draper’s return rate has improved dramatically in this second set and the champion must look elsewhere for points. Nadal wins this match but the second set seems lost…
Christmas 7-5, 1-5 Draper* (* indicates server) Another Christmas mistake! This time, with an easy direct, they drill into the middle of the net. Draper goes 30-0 in an instant and there are perhaps signs that Nadal may be conserving energy for a third-set revival. Or maybe that’s what he wants Jack Draper to suspect? Draper takes it easy and will now look to break Nadal for a third time to take the second set.
Nadal* 7-5, 1-4 Draper (* denotes server) Jack Draper has Rafael Nadal on the ropes! Suddenly, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles looks like his 37 years. Maybe it’s just me, but that bald spot on Rafa is slowly getting more pronounced and his body language is a joke of broken English and pidgin Spanish. Draper has been virtually flawless in this second set and brings Nadal back to within two in this fifth game. The mistakes keep coming for the top seed. This is very un-Rafael-like behavior. Sure, he’s been a little shaky coming into this tournament, losing six of his last seven matches (including the debates of Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the United Cup), but now he’s on a roll of the first round in his 2022 title defense. a terrible reality. Draper knows there’s blood in the water and swings for the fences. Nadal loses the last two points instead of winning them to give away a game to his rival.
Nadal 7-5, 0-4* Draper (* denotes server) As if the Kyrgios news wasn’t enough to dampen spirits, we have more rain in the Draper-Nadal duel. A good opportunity to read more about Kyrgios’ retirement courtesy of our own Emma Kemp…
Nadal 7-5, 0-4* Draper (*denotes server) Now there is a low murmur on the court and it has nothing to do with Draper vs. Nadal. It’s news that Nick Kyrgios has just pulled out of the Australian Open with a knee injury. Apparently, he didn’t come out of his exhibition match with Novak Djokovic on Friday night well, and the pain from that torn lateral meniscus has intensified since then. Now it’s all about avoiding further injury (although surely Australian Open organizers can’t take too many body blows). According to Kyrgios’ physio, he will now return to Canberra for surgery and return to court in a few months. This ends Kyrgios’ hopes of a run deep into the singles draw and also ends any chance of joining good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis (AKA the Special Ks) to defend his 2022 doubles crown Meanwhile, Jack Draper has won another service game to take a 4-0 lead.
Nadal* 7-5, 0-3 Draper (* denotes server) That light steam has revived Rafael Nadal. He has sped up to fight…