There were bizarre scenes during Rafael Nadal’s first round match against Jack Draper when his racquet suddenly went missing during a change of ends.
Nadal could be heard saying: “I need the racquet back, ballboy take my racquet.”
The ballkid appeared to have mistakenly take the racquet Nadal was using away to be restrung.
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“That’s a big mistake,” commentator John Fitzgerald said on Channel 9.
Nadal’s racquet was eventually retrieved and he claimed a four set win over Draper, prevailing 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-1.
The Spanish top seed unleashed some of his trademark hammer forehands, but also 46 unforced errors.
It put him into the second round for a 17th time and stretched his win-loss record at Melbourne Park to 77-15.
He will next…
