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Nadal crashes in season-opening match as Swiatek cruises at United Cup


Cameron Norrie (right) of England shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning the men's singles match on day three of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney on December 31, 2022.

Cameron Norrie (right) of England shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning the men’s singles match on day three of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney on December 31, 2022.

Rafael Nadal lost his season opener on Saturday during the countdown to his Australian Open title defense, but female world number one Iga Swiatek won the United Cup.

Nadal, who was also underrated at the ATP Finals in November, fell to 14th British player Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the mixed tournament in Sydney. .

The 22-time Grand Slam champion struggled with his first serve, winning only 58%, which eventually led to his first defeat to Norrie in their fifth meeting.

“It’s crazy, I’ve never won a set before (against him) so I wanted to do it first and I had to be very patient,” Norrie said after the two-hour and 44-minute battle at Ken Rosewall. Arena was packed with people.

“It was a super physical and huge match to get through that and beat him in the end. He beat me easily the last few times.

There was little chance to separate them in the opening sets, with the first break point in game six for Nadal, but Norrie saved with a half-volley.

Nadal’s relentless pressure helped him get his second goal and this time the world number two Spaniard successfully converted with a cross-court forehand before ending the set in a methodical manner. law at the 52nd minute.

But his poor first serve was a problem and he broke serve to go 4-2 in the second set. He saved two set points but Norrie scored a third on his serve to level a set-all.

Nadal double-faulted to open the third set and while he recovered to hold, his serve again abandoned him in the fifth game as he was broken serve and 36 age cannot find a way back.

In Brisbane, Swiatek got Poland off to a perfect start with an overwhelming 6-1, 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.

She broke three times in the first set and twice in the second set to completely overwhelm her opponent in just 64 minutes.

“I’m pretty happy with my performance — the first games of the season are always intense so I’m happy because in the key moments I was so calm,” Swiatek said.

“I feel that representing Poland has always been really special. I’m willing to focus more because when I go on the pitch, I get goosebumps.

“It’s hard to play well when you’re so emotional, but I have to get used to that and I’m really proud to represent my country. I feel this is a really inspiring tournament.”

Important moments

Germany's Alexander Zverev hits back at Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka during their men's singles match on day three of the United Cup in Sydney on December 31, 2022.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev hits back at Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka during their men’s singles match on day three of the United Cup in Sydney on December 31, 2022. (Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP)

Also in Sydney, former world number two Alexander Zverev conceded his first ATP match defeat since rupturing his ankle ligament in the French Open semi-final against Nadal in June.

The two-time ATP Finals champion made eight double errors in a 6-4, 6-2 loss to 81st placerunner Jiri Lehecka.

His German teammate Jule Niemeier then lost to Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 7-5 to give the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead in the draw.

Olympic champion Zverev, who dropped to 12th in the world from 2nd in his career before his injury, is clearly still struggling.

He took the break with 2-3 in the first set but a double error at 4-5 brought the Czech set point and he took his chance, converting with a lob. .

With his serve not being made, Zverev had the service broken to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and never recovered.

“I was able to show up in key moments. All the experience from last year, losing to good players, gave me the confidence to play against a player like him,” said Lehecka, 21.

Meanwhile, Brazil led Norway 2-0 thanks to Beatriz Haddad Maia and Felipe Meligeni Alves both winning consecutive sets.

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