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World No.2 Rafael Nadal says it’s too early to talk about retirement despite his recent string of injuries and a losing start to the Australian summer of tennis.
Nadal showcased his sportsmanship amid a tense moment during his shock three-set loss to Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie at the United Cup in Sydney on Saturday.
The scores were locked at 2-2 and 30-30 in the deciding set of the match when Nadal admitted the ball had struck his body while playing a close-range shot that made it over the net.
The 22-time grand slam champion saved the ensuing break point, but world No.14 Norrie snared the break shortly after on the way to wrapping up the 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory in two hours 44 minutes.
World No.145 Katie Swan gave Great Britain a 2-0 lead when she upset world No.70 Nuria Parrizas Diaz 3-6 6-1 6-2 with an ace on her sixth match point.
Nadal won the Australian Open and Roland Garros early in 2022, but foot, rib and abdomen issues meant he played just four events after Wimbledon in July.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The 36-year-old smiled away questions about retirement when asked following the loss to Norrie.
“I lost my match. That’s it, no?” Rafael said. “Every time that I am coming to a press conference seems that I have to retire. So you are very, very interested on my retirement. I mean, that is for the moment not the case.
“When this day arrives, I’m going to let you know, guys. Don’t keep going with the retirement (talk) because I’m here to keep playing tennis.”
Nadal looked rusty at times against Norrie, but he’s confident he can regain his magical touch ahead of his Australian Open defence
“Well, was not a disaster at all,” Nadal said of his loss to Norrie. “I can do things, of course, better, and I need to do it.
“I need to be a little bit faster physically, a little bit more solid, some less mistakes and making better decisions at some point, playing a little bit longer. In my case, I think there is a way to improve, but I have time before the Australian Open starts in two weeks.”
Norrie, who failed to win a set in his four previous encounters against Nadal, was thrilled to get the win.
“It was pretty crazy. I was thinking I’d never won a set before, so I wanted to come out and firstly do that,” Norrie said during his on-court interview.
Great Britain beat Australia 3-2 in their opening round, and they will top their group if they can beat Spain in the best-of-five tie.
Australia are back in action on Monday, with Alex de Minaur scheduled to take on Nadal and Zoe Hives due to face Parrizas Diaz.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek has opened her United Cup campaign with a straight-sets thrashing of Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Swiatek gave Poland a 1-0 lead in the mixed teams tournament tie with a commanding 6-1 6-3 win in Brisbane on Saturday.
The 21-year-old saved a break point in the opening game and was never troubled from there.
She displayed the sort of intensity, focus and aggression that led her to eight singles titles in 2022, including the French and US Open crowns.
“I’m pretty happy that I won my first match of the season and last of this year, because it would be pretty sad if I would finish this year with a loss,” Swiatek said.
“I’m happy that I played a solid match and on important moments I really could be proactive and win.”
Kazakhstan levelled the tie at 1-1 when Timofey Skatov defeated Daniel Michalski 7-6 6-2.
Swiatek went on a 37-match winning streak last season – the equal-longest in women’s tennis since Steffi Graf in 1990.
But she revealed on the eve of the United Cup that she initially struggled with taking on retired Australian ace Ash Barty’s world No.1 mantle.
Swiatek hopes to take her game to even greater heights in 2023 and has hit the ground running ahead of next month’s Australian Open.
She was a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park last summer, losing to American Danielle Collins.
Swiatek said starting the season injury free was a big plus.
German tennis star Alexander Zverev has conceded it will be weeks before he hits peak fitness, after he was upset by the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka in the United Cup.
Zverev returned to tournament play for the first time after ankle surgery and was humbled 6-4 6-2 by Lehecka, the world No.81, in Sydney on Saturday.
Marie Bouzkova then gave the Czechs a 2-0 lead in the mixed teams tournament tie with a 6-2 7-5 win over Jule Niemeier.
World No.12 Zverev’s previous tour-level appearance was against Rafael Nadal in a French Open semi-final in June.
Zverev rolled his right ankle in that match, tearing all three lateral ligaments in the process, before leaving the court in a wheelchair.
The 25-year-old had surgery and tried to return on several occasions in recent months but was forced to abort his plans each time.
Zverev was ranked No.2 in the world in June but his lack of matches was evident as he struggled with serve and movement against a red-hot Lehecka.
The 21-year-old Czech broke Zverev to take the first set and kept the pressure up in the second.
“Physically, I’m not at the level I have to be,” Zverev told reporters. “This isn’t even a question. I’m getting tired a lot quicker than I always did. I’m not as fast as I probably was. To be honest, I’m only pain-free for about two, three weeks now, since all Saudi Arabia basically.
“Before that, I had pain and I wasn’t able to do all the different kind of things I want to do. I don’t think it’ll be a matter of tomorrow, after tomorrow. It’ll be a few weeks until I’m back to the level I want to be.”
In other United Cup action, Brazil took a 2-0 lead over Norway in Brisbane.
Beatriz Haddad Maia kept her unbeaten run intact with a 6-4 6-2 win over Malene Helgo and Felipe Meligeni Alves backed that up with a 6-3 6-3 victory against Viktor Durasovic.
The Bulgaria-Belgium tie in Perth is locked at 1-1 after Alison Van Uytvanck beat Isabella Shinikova 6-1 3-6 6-3 and veteran Grigor Dimitrov overcame David Goffin 6-4 7-5.
Croatia lead Argentina 2-0 after Donna Vekic beat Maria Lourdes Carle 6-0 6-4 and Borna Coric defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-4.
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