TENNIS AO15 – Rafael Nadal had to dig deep to bounce back from 1-2 down to battle past World Number 112 Tim Smyczek from the USA in a hard-fought five-set second round match to scrape through to the third set with 6-2 3-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-5 after 4 hours and 12 minutes on a thrilling day in which Maria Sharapova was pushed on the edge of defeat against Alexandra Panova and Roger Federer dropped the first set before edging Italian Simone Bolelli. Diego Sampaolo
AO2015: Interviews, Results, Order of Play, Draws
Nadal survived a big scare to overcome a very hard battle against US qualifier Tim Smyczek in his 10th match since losing to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Nadal broke serve twice in the fourth and the eighth games en route to clinching the first set with 6-2. Smyczek, who achieved his previous best win against Jurgen Melzer at Delray Beach in 2012 and was playing his 14th match in a Grand Slam, bounced back from dropping the first set by breaking Nadal three times in the second set en route to drawing level on sets with 6-3. Nadal committed a double fault at 0-40 to hand Smyczek a 4-3 lead in the seventh game of the second set. Smyczek reeled off five consecutive games to race to a 2-0 in the third set.
Nadal called for the doctor complaining of stomach problems. Nadal recovered but he double faulted on break point in the third set which came down to the tie-break where the US player cruised through to a 5-2 lead with two groundstroke winners en route to clinching the breaker with 7-2.
Nadal clawed his way back into the match by taking a break in the sixth game of the fourth set to take a 4-2 lead and managed to force it to the decider. Nadal broke to 15 in the 11th game to take the 6-5 lead The 14-time Grand Slam winner had to dig deep until the end. He failed to convert on three match points before sealing a dramatic win on his fourth attempt.
“It was a very tough night for me and a tough period of seven months without competition. Today conditions were a little bit humid and I felt tired after the first set. The fantastic crowd helped me a lot, so many thanks for that. What he did at the end of the fifth set is just amazing. Very few players can do that after four hours at 6-5. I just will say thanks to him because he is great example”, said Nadal.
In the third round Nadal will take on Duda Sela who beat Lukas Rosol in four sets with 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 7-5 6-3.
A lot of credit goes to the US player who usually plays in Challenger tournaments had to get through three qualifying round to reach the main draw but he playing against the twice Australian Open champion fearless without nothing to lose. He hit 15 aces and 64 winners (28 of them with his forehand).
“It was very special tonight. It was pretty clear Rafa didn’t have the best stuff but it just shows the kind of player he is. He was sick and was not playing well. He found his way to win. That’s why he is one of the best players. I didn’t really struggle with nerves just because I had nothing to lose. I am really happy with the way I served. I was happy that I was able to go for four hours and still feel okay”, said Smyczek.
