Defending champion Rafael Nadal bows out of Australian Open
Melbourne (AP): A clearly hurting Rafael Nadal lost his second-round match at the Australian Open to Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday, abruptly ending his title defense and bid for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam trophy.
It was not immediately clear what was bothering the 35-year-old Spaniard, but he pulled up awkwardly at the end of a point late in the second set against the 65th-ranked McDonald.
The No. 1-seeded Nadal was visited by a trainer on the sideline, then left the court for a medical timeout. Up in the stands, his wife wiped away tears. Nadal returned to play, but was physically compromised and not his usual chase-every-ball self.
This is Nadal's earliest exit at any Grand Slam tournament since bowing out in the first round in Melbourne in 2016 against No. 45 Fernando Verdasco. That also made Verdasco the lowest-ranked player to defeat Nadal in Australia until, of course, McDonald on Wednesday.
McDonald is a 27-year-old American who won NCAA championships in singles and doubles for UCLA in 2016. He has never been past the fourth round at a major tournament. In his lone previous matchup against Nadal, at the 2020 French Open, McDonald won a total of just four games in his lopsided loss.
Nadal won the Australian Open for the second time a year ago for his 21st major championship, then raised his total to 22 the most for a man at Roland Garros.
He is currently ranked No. 2 but was the top seed at Melbourne Park because No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is sitting out the Australian Open with a bad leg.
Nadal has dealt with a series of health issues recently.
He needed pain-killing injections for his left foot on the way to winning the French Open last June, pulled out of Wimbledon last July before the semifinals because of a torn abdominal muscle and also dealt with a problem with rib cartilage in 2022. (
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Mann has 'understanding' with Amit Shah to split AAP after Lok Sabha polls, claims SAD chief Badal
Sangrur (Punjab), May 11: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has an "understanding" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to split AAP into a separate Punjab unit after the elections, like Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde did in Maharashtra, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Saturday.
Badal made the claim while addressing rallies at Sunam and Dhuri for the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Sangrur candidate Iqbal Singh Jhundan.
"Bhagwant Mann has compromised with the BJP as he felt he would also be arrested like his boss (Arvind) Kejriwal because he had also perpetrated the same liquor scam as done by AAP in Delhi. This understanding has saved him from arrest," Badal alleged.
Shiv Sena leader Shinde became Maharashtra chief minister after parting ways with Uddhav Thackeray and forming an alliance with the BJP.
The Election Commission of India has since recognised the Shinde faction as officially representing the Shiv Sena while the Thackeray-led faction has been using the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) name.
The Shiromani Akali Dal chief also asserted that no Delhi-based party can be trusted with votes.
"Bhagwant Mann has opened channels with both the BJP and the Congress to hedge his bet. While he has an informal understanding with the BJP, he has also aligned with the Congress in Punjab and is putting up a friendly fight in most constituencies," Badal said.
He cited how AAP is contesting against the Congress in Punjab but Mann has been campaigning for the grand old party in Chandigarh and Haryana.
AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc. While the two parties are contesting the Lok Sabha elections independently in Punjab, they have an alliance in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Urging Punjabis to "seal the borders" for all Delhi-based parties, Badal said, "The AAP government in Punjab and the Union government colluded to prevent our farmers from marching to Delhi. This led to firing of tear gas shells at our farmers and even firing of rubber bullets. Now it is your turn to seal the borders of Punjab with your votes."
He also made a case for trusting the Shiromani Akali Dal -- a home-grown party of Punjab.
Badal said the Shiromani Akali Dal has always stood for safeguarding the interests of Punjab and decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone when it became clear that the BJP was not ready to resolve any of the pending grievances of the farmers or the Sikh community.
He also announced that once the Shiromani Akali Dal is elected to power, it will release tubewell connections to all agriculturists who do not have a single connection in their name.
He also promised that all social welfare schemes that have been curtailed by successive Congress and AAP governments would be revived in totality.
