•  Mackenzie McDonald beat Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open.
• The 36-year-old Spanish player appears to be suffering from a hip issue.
• Novak Djokovic can tie Nadal for most Grand Slam titles with 22 wins.

Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, was knocked out of the Australian Open in round two by American Mackenzie McDonald, who is ranked 65th. This is his lowest Grand Slam performance in seven years.

The 36-year-old Spanish player, who appeared to be suffering from a hip issue, lost 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Losing gives Nadal’s arch-rival Novak Djokovic the opportunity to tie him for the most Grand Slam titles with 22 wins. The Serb has returned to Melbourne after being expelled in 2017 and missing the competition.

First place Nadal never settled, trailing a set before having a medical timeout in the second set after injuring himself while extending for a forehand and grimacing in pain.

He fought on, but his movement was restricted, and he was clearly in pain.

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Mery, his wife, was seen amid the crowd crying.

“It was extremely difficult to keep mentally focused, but I just pulled it out,” McDonald said.

“He’s an outstanding champion who will never, ever give up no matter what. I was trying to keep focused on what I was doing when he knocked me off my stride, and I simply got through it.”

The last time Nadal was eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam was at the Australian Open in 2016.

The two had previously met in the second round of a Grand Slam. On that occasion, at the 2020 French Open, Nadal won in straight sets, dropping only four games.

McDonald was always in command this time, with Nadal quickly on the back foot, broken on his opening serve game, and the American exploding to a 4-1 lead.

Before clawing back a break, Nadal complained to the umpire that he was being rushed on his serve. He grabbed another break point at 4-5 to tie the set, but the American held on and won.

Nadal departed the court at the changeover, but it didn’t help, as his serve failed to ignite once more, and he was broken early as McDonald continued to dominate.

The Spaniard was on precarious ground, but he found a way to claw back and tie the set at 2-2, like he has so many times before.

But the errors returned, and he was broken once more before injuring himself at 15-30 in the eighth game, which he lost before painfully going back to his seat.

The physio was summoned, and he was heard repeating “hip” in Spanish before exiting the court for a medical timeout, leaving wife Mery in tears in the players’ box.

He came back and cheerfully continued, but he was only a shell of the man he once was.

On the same court the previous year, Nadal made history by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final in five sets.

With 21, he now holds the record for the most Grand Slam men’s singles victories, surpassing Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

At Roland Garros, he added a 22nd, while Djokovic won Wimbledon and advanced to 21.

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