Rafael Nadal was beaten by Richard Gasquet at the Kooyong Classic invitation tournament on Tuesday. It was the first match of the world number one since mid-November.
0:15! This is Richard Gasquet’s disastrous result against Rafael Nadal – but only on the ATP tour. If there are no world ranking points at stake, the picture is different. The Frenchman won in Kooyong 6-4,7-5 against his fearful opponent.
For Nadal, however, the result was of secondary importance. The 31-year-old Spaniard, most recently competing at the ATP finals in London, described the match as “a good test and an ideal training session”.
Most importantly, the 16-time Grand Slam winner was able to move without any visible restrictions – the maltreated right knee seems to be holding,”I’m fine and I’m here – that’s good news. I would also like to train here in the next few days to start well prepared for the Australian Open”, Nadal continues.
In windy conditions, however,”Rafa” still lacked the accustomed safety on the forehand side. In the second set, however, he was able to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead until Gasquet managed to break again.
The next tidbit in Kooyong follows on Wednesday: Dominic Thiem, who has survived his feverish cold, meets Novak Djokovic, who is returning home. In the evening (local time) Stan Wawrinka will also be on stage for the first time at the “Tie Break Tens”.