Nadal begins the course with defeat

It was not the expected start to the season for Rafael Nadal, who lost in his first match of the season against Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Balearic Islands’ first match in almost a month.

Nadal opened the United Cup for Spain, but could not give him the first point; nor could Nuria Parrizas, who was rallied by Katie Swan (3-6, 6-1 and 6-2) to leave the team led by Marc López 0-2 down after the first day. In other words, Spain will need to win the remaining three games, which will be played on January 1, to defeat the British and have a chance of being in the next round.

This Friday’s clash was the first official for Nadal since the last ATP Finals in Turin in November, where he fell in the group stage, and his first contact with the competition since the exhibitions he played earlier this month in South America.

The rival did not invite pessimism. A Norrie who, as much as he is among the 15 best in the world and has been a ‘top ten’ for many weeks, had not won a single set against Nadal in their four previous meetings. Fears of a possible improvement for the Johannesburg-born tennis player dissipated after a first set in which Nadal showed himself at a high level, confirmed his only chance to break and deactivated the one set by Norrie. He scored the 6-3 partial in Manacor with a great service exercise -he only lost three points with first serves-.

It looked like a routine victory for Nadal, who turned his first 20 matches of the year into victories last season, but this time, the course began to turn when Norrie took the pulse of the match and earned five break points in the sixth game of the second set. Nadal saved the first four, but succumbed to the fifth and defeat began to take shape.

The Briton, with a competent forehand and an unorthodox but effective backhand, began a festival of saving breaking balls that cut off Nadal’s options. He saved the five options that Nadal had to return to the match, one in the second set and four in the third, and, after two hours and 45 minutes, he overthrew him with a winning forehand.

First defeat of the year for Nadal, which greatly complicates Spain’s options to advance in this United Cup. Parrizas, who took to the court a few minutes after the Spaniard, also lost against Swan and left the Spanish team with a 0-2 loss in the marker.

Paula Badosa and Pablo Carreño must beat Harriet Dart and Dan Evans respectively, in addition to Spain having to win the mixed doubles that closes the tie, to have options to access the next round. Great Britain already beat Australia in the first meeting of this Group D, so just one more point against Spain will mean their qualification and the elimination of the Spanish and Australians.

Whatever happens tomorrow, Nadal will return to the court on January 2 to open the tie against Australia against Alex de Minaur, a tennis player whom he has beaten on all three occasions in which they have faced each other. This clash was going to pit Nadal against Nick Kyrgios, in one of the most anticipated matches of the United Cup, but the man from Canberra withdrew from the tournament a few hours after its start citing an injury.