World No.1 Rafael Nadal has praised the ‘very brave’ ball girl who bore the brunt of his legendary forehand in ‘one of the more scary moments’ of his glittering career on Thursday night.
The left-hander struck the ball girl in the side of the head with a blistering forehand that missed his intended target during his 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 second-round win over Federico Delbonis.
Nadal immediately recoiled as he watched the incident unfold, rushing to the young girl’s aid and giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek to the delight of the crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
“Well for here probably was not a good moment,” Nadal said in an on-court interview immediately after the match.
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“I was so scared for her honestly, the ball was quick and straight onto her. She’s a super brave girl.
“… It’s probably one of the more scary moments that I had on the tennis court because the ball was straight onto her … so I’m just very happy that you are good and you are very brave so, well done.”
*𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉* ballkid moment, narrated by @RafaelNadal 📚
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/tElLurAnQ1
Nadal’s victory over Delbonis wasn’t as easy as the final score suggested, with the 19-time grand slam winner wasting numerous break points throughout the two-and-a-half-hour scrap.
He squandered six break points alone in a marathon 22-point second game before finally converting the seventh to seal the only service break of the first set.
Delbonis saved three break points in the first game of the second set and escaped more trouble in the fifth game before Nadal seized a two-sets-to-one lead in the tiebreak.
The legendary Spaniard dominated the final set to book a third-round meeting with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta.
With the victory, Nadal remains on course for a mouth-watering fourth-round match-up against bitter rival Nick Kyrgios.
The unpredictable Australian has traded barbs with Nadal previously and mimicked the Spaniard’s service routine during his 6-2 6-4 4-6 7-5 victory over French veteran Gilles Simon earlier on Thursday night.
Kyrgios faces a tough third-round clash against Russian Karen Kachanov on Saturday for the right to play the winner of Nadal and Carreno Busta.
