‘The ball boy took my racket’ – Rafael Nadal in disbelief during Australian Open win against Jack Draper and explains ‘funny situation’
Rafael Nadal had a bizarre moment in his first round match with Jack Draper as his racket went AWOL, but fortunately saw the funny side.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner is well-known for being meticulous in his preparation, right down to having his water bottles in perfect alignment.
That was disrupted somewhat when one of the ball boys accidentally took his racket to be sent to get restrung, but that was the one he was currently using.
“It is this one for the stringer not that one. I need the racket back," he could be overheard saying.
The umpire then got on the phone to make a call to try and retrieve the racket.
Nadal took it in good nature, though, when many others would have been furious.
He then went over to Draper to explain what had happened and why he was causing a commotion.
Nadal added: "The ball boy took my racket."
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The defending Australian Open champion went on to beat the British number three in a tough match that lasted more than three-and-a-half hours.
The Spaniard took the opening set 7-5, before Draper came back and levelled things up in the second.
However, cramp started setting in for the Brit from set three and started fading.
Nadal took the next two sets to progress to the second round.
“Not distracting, just a funny situation!" he told after the match. "Normally, I have the numbers of the racquet under control, so I said ‘I need the stringer’ - but I needed the stringer to look at the other racquets.
“So he [the ball kid] picked up my racquet I was ready to play [with]. But okay, he took it and no problem at all!"