Emil Ruusuvuori advanced to the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament. The second round, on the other hand, was the fate of Rafael Nadal, ranked number one in the tournament.
Emil Ruusuvuoren the opening match at the Australian Open tennis tournament lasted about a day with the wait. Rusuvuori finally won the host country by Max Purcell with set numbers 3–1 (4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6).
With all the preparations, the struggle took even longer from Ruusuvuori.
– A very special match, at least a 24-hour process. Many times we had to warm up and almost go back to the field, and we were stopped on the field a couple of times, Ruusuvuori recounted the events of the previous hours.
The match was originally supposed to start around 4:30 a.m. Finnish time early on Tuesday morning. Finally, the match started after nine in the morning.
Rain interrupted the match and finally the fight was finished at nine in the morning Finnish time today, Wednesday.
A thriller-like cutoff game decided the match
Yesterday, Ruusuvuori and Purcell had to stop the match around midnight local time in the middle of the tiebreaker of the fourth set. At that point, the duo had been on the field for about 15 hours.
– It’s hard to fall asleep after stages like that, so a really quick night’s sleep. Back to wait in the morning, when it was not known when the match would start, Ruusuvuori revealed.
– The constant waiting and uncertainty inside the head takes its toll, the Finn continued.
The missed fourth set was decided today in a tiebreaker. The Finn was satisfied that he managed to win it, albeit with difficulties. Both had set points before the decision. The cut-off game ended in favor of the Finns 13–11.
– Fortunately, this time it was me who was able to keep my head first and take it to heart, the Finn reflected after the victory.
The opposition from the Australian, who served 21 aces in the match, will be considerably tougher in the next round. Rusuvuori receives the sixth in the world ranking Andrei Rublev. After the long first round, the body must be allowed to recover.
– The best possible recovery and night’s sleep. Let’s try to put our brains on hold for a while and from tomorrow we will prepare for the match. A nice match coming up, you get to play against a top 10 player.
Nadal’s tournament ended in the second round
Spain ranked first in the tournament Rafael Nadal unexpectedly lost his second round match to the American To Mackenzie McDonald. Ranked 63rd in the world, McDonald won the two and a half hour long match with 3–0 (6–4, 6–4, 7–5).
– I am really happy with the way I started the match. I passed and returned well, commented McDonald According to the ATP tour website (you will switch to another service).
Nadal has suffered from various injuries since last summer. Against McDonald, he injured his left hip in the second set. In a 3-5 loss situation, the defending champion used a time-out for medical procedures.
After the injury, the 22-time Grand Slam winner no longer moved in his usual style.
– I hope it’s nothing serious. The last three weeks have been good training-wise, so hopefully the injury won’t keep me off the court for a long time, Nadal reflected after the match.
The last time Nadal has dropped out of a Grand Slam tournament this early was in 2016 in Australia. The new injury was a tough spot for the Spanish star.
– I can’t say that I’m not mentally distracted by this, because I’d be lying, Nadal revealed.
However, the Spaniard assured the media that he still has the power to come back from one injury.
– I like to play tennis. I like to fight for things that I have fought for even more than half of my life, Nadal uploaded.